July 2, 2009   7:06pm

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June 29, 2009
City Council agenda

HTML    PDF 
amended June 30

Agenda on City web site 


City Council Pages
(subcommittees,
scoreboard, etc.)

Zoning Petitions
being considered or acted upon by the Cambridge City Council
updated June 18

Members of Cambridge
Boards & Commissions

(updated June 24)

2009 Cambridge
Candidate Pages
 
(based on who are expected to be candidates this year)

2007 Cambridge
Candidate Pages
 


2nd Quote for June 2009:
"Too bad if a governor had to go missing it couldn't have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin." Senator John F. Kerry
[Political opinions aside, what kind of man makes such a statement?]

1st Quote for June 2009:
"Them Jews aren't going to let him talk to me. I told my baby daughter that he'll talk to me in five years when he's a lame duck, or in eight years when he's out of office. ...They will not let him talk to somebody who calls a spade what it is." -- Rev. Jeremiah Wright, asked if he's talked to Obama since he became president.


Quote for March 2009:
"In Washington it's a little bit like American Idol, except everybody is Simon Cowell." -- Barack Obama
[yes, and Mr. Obama is Sanjaya.]



the known universe
http://rwinters.com

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Go for a Walk

AMC Local Walks:

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Note to readers: Plenty of older items from the main page were moved to the following Notes Pages:

2009 CCJ Notes

2008 CCJ Notes

2007 CCJ Notes

2006 CCJ Notes

2005 CCJ Notes 

2004 CCJ Notes

2003 CCJ Notes

Fall 2002 Notes

Spring-Summer 2002 Notes

Winter 2002 Notes

2001 Notes


Quote for Feb 2009 - "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." - White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Nov 2008.


Feb 2009 - Even if you despise Fox News, you may find interesting this YouTube video about the roots of the current financial difficulties.


Nov 2008 - Change even I can believe in: "Brothers should pull up their pants. You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing. What's wrong with that? Come on. Some people might not want to see your underwear. I'm one of them." -- President-elect Barack Obama


Quote for March 2008 (on a recent study on casinos): While opponents of gambling in Massachusetts have disputed his methods, Clyde W. Barrow, the center's director and an authority on the economic impact of gambling, said the figures show that “gambling revenue is resilient, even in the face of an economic downturn.” (Boston Globe article)

We're waiting for the next study on alcoholism and narcotics addiction in which these may also be called “resilient in the face of an economic downturn.”

Washington Elm postcard

Quote for February:
For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.” -- Michelle Obama (Barack's wife) at a Milwaukee, WI campaign event.

Is this really the first time? Surely there must have been something about the USA that gave her positive feelings before her husband Barack Obama wanted the top job? Does hubby Barack share her negative impressions about the United States? Perhaps these are “just words.”


Good quote for December:
"I mean, talk about a direct IV into the vein of your support. It's a very efficient way to communicate. They regurgitate exactly and put up on their blogs what you said to them. It is something that we've cultivated and have really tried to put quite a bit of focus on."
-- former White House communications director Dan Bartlett, on conservative blogs


Good quote for August: “By now, the political blogosphere is to the left what talk radio is to the right. It is a forceful, sometimes demagogic, message-monger organizing tool for the progressive end of the Democratic Party.”
- Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe, Aug 10, 2007 column "E-male"


 In Memory 


Interesting Fact: Did you know that the color on the top of a fire hydrant indicates the flow rate of water from that hydrant?
Blue:  1500+ gal/minute
Green:  1000-1499 gal/min
Orange:  500-999 gal/min
Red:  <500 gal/min


Favorite Quote for June: “He told me...that, as a martyr, he would have been granted 72 virgins. This didn't seem quite the moment to point out that there is a lively, ongoing debate among scholars of Islam as to whether the 72 promised virgins might, in fact, only be 72 raisins.”
-- The New Republic's Peter Bergen, on an interview with a would-be suicide bomber


Yet Another Favorite Quote for May: “If they f*** with me or Shaha, I have enough on them to f*** them too.”
 -- Paul Wolfowitz, referring to several senior staff members at the World Bank

Favorite Quote for May: “And as for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don't worry about that.”
-- Nationally renowned bigot and opportunist Al Sharpton comment on Mitt Romney


April's favorite quote: “Quoting Robert Winters, a math instructor at Harvard, who is alleged to be an FBI informant, is like asking the Pope about religion.”

-- By R.B., April 18, 2007


Cambridge Ideas

Election Day Registration
(May 2007)

In Search of a
Progressive Definition

(April 2007)

Getting Board and Commissioned
(February 2007)

Fine Feathered Nests
(January 2007)

 Running Off
(November 2006)

YouTube animation on
Instant Runoff Voting

Evolution of a Cambridge Idea
(October 2006)

Having Your Cake

City Council Rules
2006-2007
 
[Rule 26 amended Feb 27, 2006]

City Council Goals - FY2008-2009

City Council Goals - FY2006-2007 

2005 Cambridge
Election Fun Facts
 

2005 Cambridge
Candidate Pages


The City Clerks and
City Managers
of Cambridge

“Every municipality has its quirks. In Newton, the unofficial anthem is ‘Kumbaya.’ The Cambridge City Council will undoubtedly pass a resolution demanding that yoga be an Olympic sport. Supposedly urbane Boston has an otherwise good mayor that no one can understand.”
- Brian McGrory,
Boston Globe, Nov 19, 2004

City of Cambridge
web site

Boston Globe 

Cambridge Chronicle 

Harvard Crimson 

Cambridge Recycles
recycling symbol

Information on
Home Composting
in Cambridge

Will the real traitor
please stand up?

“For the majority leader of the United States Senate, in the time of war, with soldiers dying on the ground, announcing that we have lost the war, is very close to treasonous. I looked it up while we were driving over here, what the definition of 'treason' is. It's the betrayal of trust.”
  -- Tom DeLay, 2007

“I cannot support a failed foreign policy....President Clinton has never explained to the American people why he was involving the US military in a civil war in a sovereign nation, other than to say it is for humanitarian reasons, a new military-foreign policy precedent. Was it worth it to stay in Vietnam to save face? What good has been accomplished so far? Absolutely nothing.”
  -- then-House Majority Whip Tom Delay, 1999, a month into the US mission in Kosovo


“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
July 26, 1920, H.L. Mencken

Ron Suskind's essay:
Without a Doubt
NY Times Magazine,
Oct 17, 2004

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
-- Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

Bush Advisor Karl Rove, p. 78 of the February 19 & 26, 2001 issue of the New Yorker:
[ on education plan in general ] ... “The tax cuts will make the economy grow. As people do better, they start voting like Republicans -- unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing.”

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. – Blaise Pascal

History Repeats

“Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”
   -- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

“I just don’t think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security.”
   -- Gerald R. Ford


Cambridge approves
smoking ban

Notes on the Rent Control Initiative Petition of 2003

Red Sox logo

Archive of all City Council and School Committee election results, 1941-2005 (PDF)
(amended March 19, 2006)


Recommended Reading:
FIXING ELECTIONS:  THE FAILURE OF AMERICA'S WINNER-TAKE-ALL POLITICS
by Steven Hill


Election 2002

Graffiti Hotline:
617-349-6955

MassINC

City Council Goals with City Manager's Key Implementation Goals
(6 page PDF)

Harvard Square 1982


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Let the Games Begin! (July 2 update)
Candidates begin taking out nomination papers for City Council and School Committee

Today is the first day that candidates can pull papers for this year's municipal election. As of 5:00pm on July 2, here are the candidates who have pulled papers:

Name Office Signatures submitted     Signatures certified    
Edward J. Sullivan City Council - -
E. Denise Simmons City Council - -
Charles J. Marquardt   City Council - -
David P. Maher City Council - -
Philip R. Fenstermacher City Council - -
Neal Leavitt City Council - -
Minka vanBeuzekom City Council - -
Larry Ward City Council - -
Silvia P. Glick City Council - -
Timothy J. Toomey City Council - -
Sylvia Barnes City Council - -
Kenneth E. Reeves City Council - --
Alan Steinert, Jr. School Committee - -
Fred Fantini School Committee     - -
James Williamson City Council - -
Mark F. Flanagan City Council - -
Benjamin Leland Cheung   City Council - -
Sam Seidel City Council - -
Tom Stohlman City Council - -
Marjorie Decker City Council - -
Henrietta Davis City Council - -
M. Kevin Moore School Committee - -
Marc McGovern School Committee - -
Patricia M. Nolan School Committee - -
Richard Harding School Committee - -
Richard Harding City Council - -
Joseph Grassi School Committee - -

Check out this year's Cambridge Candidate Pages.
20 people have now pulled papers for City Council and 7 for School Committee. Candidates still expected: Craig Kelley (CC), Gregg Moree (CC), Nancy Tauber (SC), Alice Turkel (SC). [Note: Richard Harding pulled papers for both.]

June 29, 2009 City Council Agenda Highlights

This is the last City Council meeting before the summer break. (The next meetings will be on July 27 and Sept 14.) Significant agenda items include:

City Mgr's Agenda #4: A Planning Board recommendation on the Vehicle-sharing Parking Facilities Petition (which today means ZipCar but which could involve other companies in the future).

City Mgr's Agenda #6: A proposed Home Rule Petition to be submitted to the State Legislature entitled "An Act Relative to the Provision of Services to the City of Cambridge by the Cambridge Energy Alliance". [Follow the link for the complete text of the Home Rule Petition.]

On the Table #2: That the City Manager is requested to make available adequate funds to the City Council so that the City Council can hire its own legal expert to review relevant issues in pending litigation.

This matter is still not resolved and this could be taken from the table and taken up if there are five votes to do it (and there won't be further discussion about it - except on the campaign trail - until the next meeting at the end of July).

Order #2. That the City Council go on record requesting that the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy maintain the existing State laws governing cable licensing, which adequately protect cities and towns, residents of the Commonwealth by defeating House Bill No.3765 and Senate Bill No.1531, An Act Promoting Consumer Choice and Competition.   Councillor Davis

This Order would oppose a bill promoted by Verizon that aims to minimize the cable licensing process and, some would argue, give Verizon a competitive advantage over Comcast. The current process now obliges Comcast to provide funding for local cable access provider CCTV, and its Executive Director Susan Fleischmann has been making the case that Verizon should have to fulfill similar obligations. Lest anyone try to portray Verizon as the bad guy and Comcast as the good guy, it's worth noting that Comcast just sent out a letter to its analog cable customers informing them that their service is about to be "enhanced" to the "World of More." What Comcast means by the "World of More" is that analog cable customers will be seeing their cable TV bills quadruple this October or else have most of their stations disappear when Comcast will eliminate its analog cable option. Comcast has mastered Orwellian language. They actually say they will enhance your cable TV package by eliminating service and dramatically increasing the cost of service. Welcome to the World of More. - Robert Winters

June 26 - Journalism in the era of Twitter (Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe)

June 24 - Boston to begin single-stream recycling starting July 1 (Boston Globe)
Note: This may also be coming to Cambridge at some point.

July Programs at Fresh Pond Reservation
These events are FREE and open to the public. Children are welcome in the company of an adult.

TREES OF FRESH POND6 Sundays: July 5 through August 9, 1 to 3pm. We will meet at the site of each program:
July 5 ­ Kingsley Park;   July 12 ­ Kingsley Park Bowl to Weir Meadow
July 19 ­ The Weir Meadow;   July 26 ­ Little Fresh Pond
August 2 ­ Black's Nook;   August 9 ­ Lusitania Wet Meadow
Join us for one, several, or all of 6 consecutive Sunday afternoons in July and August, and learn to identify many of the more than 50 tree species growing on the Reservation. During each program we'll observe the leaves, bark and buds of 12 trees, use keys for identification, create leaf rubbings, and map locations so that you can revisit the trees on your own. At the end of the series, you will know how to identify many trees in the summer, and you will have your own field guide. Register with Ranger Jean at 617-349-4793 for meeting information.
SUMMER BIRD WALK
Date: Sunday, July 12
Time: 7:30 to 9:30am
Place: Neville Place Driveway, 650 Concord Ave.
    Early morning is the best time to look for birds during the summer, because birds are most active when the air is cool and they are hungry for breakfast. We may find adults feeding babies in the nest, and fledglings that are following their parents and chirping for food. As always, beginning birders are welcome. We have binoculars to lend and will show you how to use them.
A TOUR OF THE WATER PURIFICATION FACILITY
Date: Monday, July 13
Time: 6:00 to 7:30pm
Place: Walter J. Sullivan Water Purification Facility
    Come learn how water that falls as rain in the western suburbs is transported to Cambridge, purified into drinking water in the Water Purification Facility, and piped to all of our local homes and businesses. Members of the Cambridge Water Department staff will describe the process, answer your questions, and give the group a tour of the building.
INVASIVE PLANTS IDENTIFICATION
Date: Tuesday, July 14
Time: 6:00 to 8:00pm
Place: Water Purification Facility
    Learn to identify the most common non-native invasive plants that are having a negative impact on our yards, gardens and natural areas. Jessica Korecki from the New England Wildflower Society will lead this walk on the Reservation using our own weeds as examples.
A FRESH POND RESERVATION WALKABOUT
Date: Monday, July 20
Time: 6:00 to 8:00pm
Place: Walter J. Sullivan Water Purification Facility, 250 Fresh Pond Pkwy
    Chip Norton, Cambridge Watershed Manager, will give a tour of Fresh Pond Reservation's conservation and recreation areas. He also will use maps and diagrams to help illustrate the goals for this major restoration project. Future Monday Evening Walkabout dates: Aug 25, Sept 22.
AN EVENING WALK IN THE UPPER CAMBRIDGE WATERSHED
Date: Monday, July 27
Time: 6:00 to 8:00pm
Place: Walter J. Sullivan Water Purification Facility 250 Fresh Pond Pkwy
    Chip Norton, Cambridge Watershed Manager will lead us on a hike on City of Cambridge owned property in Lincoln and Lexington, just north on Hobbs Brook Reservoir. We will review the natural and cultural history data that has been collected as part of the Hobbs Brook Watershed. We will carpool from the Water Department parking lot, leaving promptly at 6:10pm. Registration is required!

Please register for each event that you plan to attend. You will receive information on parking after you register. E-mail Elizabeth Wylde at friendsoffreshpond@yahoo.com or call (617) 349-6489 and leave your name and phone number.

Offered by Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation

Keep up to date on events at the Pond: visit the Friends group website at http://friendsoffreshpond.org 


June 23 - Lesley/Porter Zoning Petition Adopted (reported by John Howard, Porter Square Neighbors Association)

On June 22 the Cambridge City Council voted 8-1 to create a Lesley Porter Overlay District. This new overlay district rezones Lesley University's Porter Square campus, including the former North Prospect Congregational Church site, to allow Lesley to bring the Arts Institute of Boston to Porter Square. It limits what Lesley could eventually build on the parking lots behind and across Massachusetts Avenue from University Hall, although Lesley has not proposed any specific plans for those sites. It also has provisions to require open space and to encourage ground floor retail.

The City Council also granted landmark status to the church, meaning that any alteration to the church's exterior, or relocation of the church on its lot, will require approval by the Historical Commission.

Lesley University has submitted a related memorandum of understanding which commits them to working with neighbors on construction mitigation, providing courtesy parking during snow emergencies, ensuring adequate parking during events, contributing to beautification along Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard and Porter Squares, giving the public access to Lesley facilities such as an art library, and long-term engagement with the neighborhood.

This is the outcome of nearly three years' negotiation by Lesley University, City of Cambridge planning staff, neighborhood associations including PSNA and Agassiz Baldwin, abutters, and other concerned citizens, to develop an acceptable rezoning plan.

Discussion by the City Council included the usual questions about traffic and parking, impact on immediate abutters, construction mitigation, worry that economic problems could cause the project to be suspended halfway through, retail issues, and open space. Many of these concerns were addressed by amendments worked out in an intensive dialog between Lesley, the City's planning staff, and neighbors and abutters over the last several weeks. Most of the councillors praised the civil tone of the dialog, the dedication of both supporters and opponents, and the hard work of all participants, and called for continuing engagement of all parties.

The next major step in the process will be for Lesley to develop a specific design for the Arts Institute of Boston project, for submission to a special project review before the Planning Board as well as Historical Commission review. That will take a while. There is lots more coming, but at the moment we can hope for a respite. - John Howard


June 21 - Atlanta Adopts New Housing Model - Boston Globe [....just something to think about....]

June 22, 2009 City Council Agenda Highlights

It is expected that the Lesley/Porter zoning proposal will be voted at this meeting. There has been plenty of public comment on the proposal - both in support and in opposition. The related landmarking of the former North Prospect Church at Roseland and Mass. Ave. is also expected be taken up.

There was an aborted attempt at the last meeting to take off the Table the item (#3 this week) that requests "to make available adequate funds to the City Council so that the City Council can hire its own legal expert to review relevant issues in pending litigation." The item also includes Councillor Toomey's substitute motion, and both relate to the matter before last week's Executive Session that lasted more than two hours. I expect there will be another attempt to take up this matter this Monday or next week - the last meeting before the summer recess. A simple majority is required to take any item from the Table and there appeared to be five votes last week to take up this matter except that one member was absent at the time of the vote, and a motion to reconsider the vote failed. If the matter is taken up, things could get very contentious.

Speaking of contentious, there's this:

Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to review whether the City of Cambridge, including the Cambridge Retirement System, has any investments in which Evergreen Investment Management Company and its affiliates are involved, and is further requested to divest itself of any such investments that may exist, and to report back to the City Council on his findings at the City Council Meeting on July 27, 2009.   Councillor Toomey

What makes this Order interesting is the fact that one of the vice-presidents of the company named in the Order apparently just co-authored a commentary in "America's oldest weekly newspaper" ripping into the City Manager and all nine city councillors over the matter of the City's AAA bond rating. These co-authors imply in their screed that the City is being mismanaged by its "reprehensible" city manager. This is an interesting charge coming from someone in the leadership of a company that just shelled out over $40 million to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission on top of a previous $32.5 million settlement (according to the statement of Order #4). It is worth noting that the aforementioned vice-president is a resident of East Cambridge who reportedly intends to run for a Cambridge City Council seat this year. This could be an interesting election season.

The meeting agenda is actually quite short, but with the zoning vote and one or two potentially incendiary items, there may be a good show Monday night. - Robert Winters

June 15, 2009 City Council Agenda Highlights (and a few other observations)

I had an opportunity several days ago to run through the new Main Library building, and it really is spectacular. It won't be open for a while yet, but this is sure to be one of the grandest of all civic spaces in Cambridge. Not only is the new addition breathtaking, the restoration of the main reading room in the old building would make Frederick Hastings Rindge quite pleased about what the current City leadership has done to honor his remarkable gift. The landscaping outside the library is shaping up to be more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.

It's now just a little more than two weeks until the official kickoff of the biennial local political season when candidates can pull nomination papers for City Council and School Committee (Wed, July 1). With the pulling of papers also comes the summer recess from City Council and School Committee meetings. In the meantime, here are some items of interest on this week's agenda:

City Manager's Agenda #1. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to a request for the City Council to vote to move to Executive Session immediately following the conclusion of public comment for the purpose of discussing litigation.

This almost certainly relates to:

Tabled Item #2. That the City Manager is requested to make available adequate funds to the City Council so that the City Council can hire its own legal expert to review relevant issues in pending litigation.

The matter at hand continues to be what happens next in the City's appeal of last year's curious jury decision in the Monteiro v. City of Cambridge case. In addition to the financial considerations and what strategies may now be appropriate, there is some evidence of political gamesmanship among some of the councillors as they try to capitalize on the situation for political ends. The opportunism doesn't stop at those councillors, of course. There are also political puppeteers trying to capitalize on the case - people who have contributed nothing toward the city or its citizens and have nothing but disrespect for all of our elected officials and everyone in the City administration. Criticism of elected officials and of those who manage the city is fair game (I do it myself now and again), but these words have little meaning when spoken by those who have contributed nothing.

It's anyone's guess how long the Executive Session will last this time, nor does the agenda give any indication whether the substance of Tabled Item #2 will be part of that discussion.

There are five more citizen letters of support for the proposed Lesley/Porter Overlay District zoning petition which is expected to be voted at the June 22 meeting.

Among the City Council Orders, the first one stands out:

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council on the potential use by City departments and staff of social networking programs such as Twitter and Facebook.   Councillor Kelley

The Manager's response on a related Order last week makes one wonder if Councillor Kelley was even listening. Councillor Decker, the City Manager, and one department head took Councillor Kelley to school at that meeting on the topic of City programs making good use of listservs and of the potential perils of using other "social networking" devices. I expect we'll be hearing additional lessons directed at Councillor Kelley by his colleagues at this meeting. My suggestion is that when they start talking about this topic everyone should call the City Council phone number or pummel them with text messages.

Order #10. That the City Manager is requested to direct the Cambridge Police Department and the Department of Human Services to convene a series of meetings with the Civic Unity Committee immediately in Jefferson Park and invite the surrounding neighbors to discuss the Boston Globe article concerning violence in the neighborhood - the goal of the meeting is to provide a forum to listen to resident concerns, provide current information and resources available to help promote a safe and healthy neighborhood.   Councillor Decker

Two weeks ago, an Order from Councillor Decker regarding banning the use of cell phones while driving was referred to the Civic Unity Committee rather than to the more appropriate Ordinance Committee. There's a meeting of the Civic Unity Committee on July 1 "to explore the possibility of creating small scale solar panels that would enable the powering of small household items." Now comes another Order calling for the Civic Unity Committee to take up a matter that seems more appropriately referred to the Public Safety Committee. Are the functions of these City Council committees completely arbitrary?

There are other items of interest on the agenda, but we'll leave it at that for now and wait to see what, if anything, comes out of the Executive Session on Monday night. Election year politics can be ever so ridiculous. - Robert Winters

June 8, 2009 City Council Agenda Highlights

There not a whole lot on the agenda this week. Perhaps the meatiest item is the pending ordination of the zoning amendment for the Lesley Porter Overlay District. All 15 of the Communications are from residents expressing their points of view both for and against the proposed zoning change. The City Council has until the end of the month to vote on this (the last meeting before the summer break is June 29), and though there are few outstanding issues, the Ordinance Committee report on the matter indicates that the vote on ordination will likely take place at the June 22 City Council meeting. There's also a new zoning petition received from Jean Connor, et al., requesting the City Council to amend the Zoning Map from its current designation as a Residence C-1 to a Residence B District in the area of Garden, Winslow, Fenno, Stearns, Esten, Sherman Streets and Upland Road. This was the subject of much public comment last week.

Of the Council Orders, the only one that jumps out is Order #8 from Councillor Decker that proposes a smoking ban in all Cambridge public parks. The complete text of the order is:

O-8     June 8, 2009
COUNCILLOR DECKER
WHEREAS: We are aware of the negative health effects of second hand smoke; and
WHEREAS: Cambridge was one of the first cities to ban smoking in restaurants and public buildings; now therefore be it
ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with the appropriate departments to implement the immediate ban of smoking in all Cambridge public parks; and be it further
ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council on this matter.

You would be hard-pressed to find anyone more anti-smoking than me, so I'm not so alarmed by this Order. However, there is a certain irony in how this City Council raises red flags about the perceived infringement of civil liberties with surveillance cameras and red light enforcement cameras, yet they may embrace a ban on this relatively benign activity in public parks which are, dare I suggest, rather well ventilated. I think it's fair to characterize the second hand smoke argument offered here as "just blowing smoke." - Robert Winters


June 7, 2009 - One upon a time there was a civic organization in Cambridge known as the Cambridge Civic Association (CCA). It was formed in 1945 out of several organizations that had been existed through the 1930s and that had lobbied the state legislature to create the Plan E Charter option (1938) which featured a city manager form of government and proportional representation elections for city council and school committee. These reforms were central to model charter reform movements active in the United States from the early 1900s. The central theme of the CCA in its early days was "good government" in the sense of being anti-patronage and for professionally managed local government. This changed with the introduction of rent control at the end of the 1960s after which the CCA shifted leftward and became permanently lashed to the mast of the rent control vessel. Though the CCA still exists on paper (I believe), it rapidly declined after the statewide abolition of rent control (late 1994) and essentially disappeared a decade later (early 2005).

I bring up the ghost of the CCA today only to point out that when it was created it had some very admirable goals. Here's the original Mission Statement of the CCA:

Purposes: This association is formed for the following purposes:

1. To promote businesslike, honest, and efficient conduct of local government, open to public scrutiny.

2. To induce residents to take an active interest in the affairs of the City of Cambridge.

3. To encourage and support the candidacy of men and women seeking election to public office and to support intelligent, wholesome leadership in public affairs.

4. To assure that the best qualified persons are appointed to positions in the City government after consideration of all qualified candidates.

5. To promote among the citizens of Cambridge equitable distribution and benefit of public services and equal opportunity for economic security, education, and social advancement.

These are pretty good founding principles for a civic organization and I'm tempted to say that some should be incorporated into the recently adopted City Council's Goals for FY2010 (adopted Feb 2, 2009). In fact, of the 22 current goals, the only one that comes close is: "An increased level of recruitment and opportunities for membership on boards and commissions." The current Council goals emphasize things like "fostering community" via block parties and such, though one has to wonder if the City should be promoting these activities or just getting out of the way so that people can foster community on their own. The goals also seem to put some emphasis on developing "successful nightlife campaigns" while mentioning nothing about promoting ordinary "daytime" economic activity that supports the everyday needs of residents.

One founding principle of the CCA that fell into disuse over the years is listed above as #3: To encourage and support the candidacy of men and women seeking election to public office and to support intelligent, wholesome leadership in public affairs. Indeed, I can personally testify to the fact that in its dying years the only reason the CCA made endorsements at all was because the CCA-endorsed incumbents wanted the benefit of having an advertised CCA slate of candidates that would help secure their reelection. There was precious little effort to recruit new candidates or to support them. Today, the benefits of incumbency are greater than ever. The cost of political campaigns have become absurdly high and most of the incumbents now have (City paid) staff who are inevitably political appointees who directly or indirectly assist in the reelection efforts of their bosses. The deck is increasingly stacked against challengers. Furthermore, the salary and benefits for elected councillors are now so sweet that it is unlikely that any of them would ever want to move on to another job.

With this background in mind, I would like to encourage all Cambridge residents to help level the playing field by finding out about this year's challengers for seats on the Cambridge City Council and the Cambridge School Committee. This is not meant as a dig against any particular incumbent as much as an appeal to support the challengers in what is a difficult and laudable effort. Please see the Cambridge Candidate Pages for the current list of expected candidates. Then use your own judgment - don't expect me or anyone else to do it for you.

Speaking of this year's municipal election, there are some activists who are now expending great effort to attack the City Manager and most of the current City Council. That is not nor has it ever been the intention of the Cambridge Civic Journal or its editor. Candidates are now being seduced by financial promises from one angry fellow with a Brattle Street address and a basketful of grudges. Former CCA Executive Board members from its darkest and most manipulative days are oozing up from the civic swamp trying to at last make good on their failed campaigns of the early 1990s to oust city manager Bob Healy.

It's entertaining to watch people who have primarily earned disrespect in their civic efforts try to capitalize on the recent Monteiro jury decision as a means of realizing their decades-old vendettas. Conveniently forgotten in their recent letters to Cambridge's "oldest weekly newspaper" are the many achievements of City Manager Bob Healy, the strong financial position of the City, and the recent 8-1 vote of confidence bestowed upon Mr. Healy in granting him a three year contract extension. Also missing in this testimony is the fact that virtually all affirmative action in the hiring of employees and department heads has taken place on Mr. Healy's watch. These letters also fail to divulge how long these writers have been carrying their jealousy and anger toward Mr. Healy for actually orchestrating progress in Cambridge while the best they could ever do is snipe from the sidelines. - Robert Winters


Updated List of all Cambridge Boards & Commissions and their current members (as of June 3, 2009)


June 1, 2009 City Council Agenda Highlights

The 800 pound gorilla in the room this week is the unresolved matter of the Council's challenge of the City Manager over continuing legal action after the recent jury decision in the case of Monteiro v. City of Cambridge. When the FY2010 Budget was voted at the May 18 City Council meeting, Councillor Kelley moved that the portion of the Law Department budget that covers the cost for outside legal counsel not be approved. After the City Manager pointed out that this Budget is used for a range of activities having nothing to do with this specific case, the motion was defeated on a 4-4-1 vote with Councillors Kelley, Reeves, Seidel, and Simmons voting YES; Councillors Davis, Maher, Toomey, and Ward voting NO; and Councillor Decker voting to ABSTAIN. While the ultimate intentions of Councillor Decker are unknown, she is to be congratulated for preventing this reckless action.

The matter didn't stop there. There was still Order #2 by Councillors Kelley, Simmons, and Reeves (such good friends) which stated: "That the City Manager is requested to make available adequate funds to the City Council so that the City Council can hire its own legal expert to review relevant issues in pending litigation." Anyone familiar with the Plan E Charter knows that the City Council is prohibited from directly engaging in personnel matters, so this Order is highly problematic. Unstated in the Order was how a Council not known for its mutuality might actually decide on legal counsel. There is also the question of what would happen if the Council's counsel (sorry, couldn't resist) radically disagreed with the opinion of the City's Law Department.

It is the proper role for the City Council to establish general policies not particular to any specific case, and that includes legal and employment matters. They can do this by an Order (really a formal request) or by Ordinance (such as when they establish a commission with staff - arguably the reason we find ourselves in this mess in the first place). Councillor Toomey, to his credit, understands the Charter and the potential hazards of publicly discussing pending litigation. He introduced a Substitute Order which referred the matter to the City Solicitor for a legal opinion. After an extended Executive Session, the Council unanimously voted to table both the original Order and Toomey's substitute. That matter could be taken up this week and more Executive Sessions will surely follow. Meanwhile the City has filed an appeal of the most recent court ruling now that post-trial motions appear to have run their course.

This is probably not the place to go into the whole history of the Monteiro v. City of Cambridge case, but since the newspaper reports have been so thoroughly lacking, there are a few things that should be stated. Malvina Monteiro was the Executive Director of the Cambridge Police Review & Advisory Board (PRAB) which was established by a 1984 ordinance. The job of the executive director was established as a full-time job with duties that were part-time at best. At some point, perhaps out of boredom or a desire to move up, Monteiro enrolled as a full-time student at Tufts while still working "full-time" at the PRAB. She also sought a City scholarship. When she did not receive the scholarship, she filed a joint (racial) discrimination complaint (1998) along with Marian Hampton (Library Dept.) and Mary Wong (Kid's Council). At the time of the discrimination complaint, the City Manager stated that the City must on occasion "take corrective action when performance and expectations are not met. In those cases we attempt, whenever possible, to work with the employee to improve performance. . . . If that is not successful, disciplinary action may be required."

By early 1999, Linda Stamper of the City's Law Dept. joined the complaint. Eventually, several others joined the complaint that was being pursued by lawyer Ellen Zucker, formerly the president of the Boston Chapter of the National Organization of Women (NOW). [As a side note, Zucker's spouse is Ellen Clegg who was until recently the deputy managing editor for news operations for the Boston Globe and previously served as the editor of the Globe's City Weekly.] Florencia LaChance who briefly worked for the City as Manager of Employment Services also joined the complaint.

The City filed for Summary Judgment and in February 2003 a Justice of the Superior Court ruled that the LaChance and Hampton complaints should be dismissed. However the Wong, Monteiro, and Stamper cases were allowed to proceed through the legal system. By this time, the Monteiro complaint also included a charge of retaliation (she was fired) for having filed the original complaint. Consequently a jury failed to reach a verdict in the Monteiro case, but a subsequent jury trial led to a May 23, 2008 award of $962,400 in back and front pay and damages, $100,000 for emotional distress, and (ch-ching!) $3,500,000 in punitive damages. The City, of course, filed motions challenging this jury award. Nonetheless, in April 2009 a different Superior Court judge denied the City's motion. This only sets the stage for an appeal to a higher court. The question that is now being tossed about and politicized is whether the City should pay the judgment even if it is believed to be excessive and improper and avoid any future legal costs. The Stamper complaint and the Wong complaint (Wong is still Exec. Director of the Kid's Council) are still pending. [By the way, I'm a mathematician and not a lawyer, so please forgive (or correct) any misinterpretations of all the legal mumbo-jumbo.]

There are other policy aspects to this matter that should be discussed by the City Council but will almost certainly not be discussed. The administrative functions of the Police Review & Advisory Board were merged with the Human Rights Commission several years ago. Both commissions were established by ordinance in 1984 and always had overlapping functions. This administrative consolidation should have happened long ago, and it can be argued that such a consolidation may have prevented the conditions that led to the Monteiro case in the first place. It is, after all, not so easy to attend a full-time college program when you have actual work responsibilities. At the recent Budget hearings, Councillor Seidel indirectly asked about consolidation of some of the City boards and commissions but them quickly retreated when the City administration expressed interest in the concept. It is a fact that some City commissions (such as the Peace Commission) have become sacred cows whose purpose is rarely questioned by elected officials even though their functions are often vague and could easily be absorbed into other City departments.

Enough said about the 800 pound gorilla. Back to the rest of the agenda:

City Manager's Agenda #6. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 09-53, regarding a report on the status of the Malik Academy lease.

Order #13. That the City Council go on record asking Winn Management and Homeowners Rehab, Inc. to respond immediately to the City Council on their decision to provide Malik Academy, at the very least, a short-term resolution allowing for the continued operation of the pre-school and the child-care facilities for the next school year.   Councillor Decker and Councillor Reeves

Normally, an item like this wouldn't even attract my attention. However, at the previous Council meeting there was much public comment on this topic and most of it suggested some kind of unfair treatment of this religious school. It was especially interesting to note that in spite of suggestions by councillors and during public comment that the loss of Malik Academy would be a blow to Cambridge pre-school facilities, the new tenant will be another pre-school. According to the response from Homeowner's Rehab (HRI), Malik Academy was given a temporary sweet deal at $15/sq. ft. and were asked to pay $16/sq. ft., something that should have been no surprise since they were aware at the original signing that they should expect a small increase. When the time came to sign a new lease, they insisted on a decrease. None of this was mentioned at the previous Council meeting. In the end, HRI rented the space to another pre-school at $22/sq. ft.

City Manager's Agenda #10. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 09-51, regarding a report on the status of the Harvard Senior Picnic. [The Harvard Senior Picnic, which is hosted by the Mayor's Office in conjunction with Harvard University, is scheduled to go forward as planned on Wed, July 29, 2009.]

Again, this item should barely warrant being noticed, but the ALARM expressed at the previous Council meeting was noteworthy. Skeptics other than me have suggested that the real purpose of this event is for local political candidates to work the captive crowd in their relentless quest for votes from a population (senior citizens) who can generally be counted on to vote in local elections. If you've even witnessed this event, you will understand the skepticism.

Tabled Item #2. That the City Manager is requested to make available adequate funds to the City Council so that the City Council can hire its own legal expert to review relevant issues in pending litigation. [Tabled on motion of Councillor Davis Order Number Two of May 18, 2009 together with motion to amend by substitution submitted by Councillor Toomey.]

See above.

Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the appropriate departments to explore the possibility of banning the use of cell phones and text messaging while driving in Cambridge.   Councillor Decker

Excellent idea, but unfortunately superseded by state law that permits cell phone use while driving. Fortunately, recent events have motivated the glacial state legislature to ban text messaging while driving. Why anyone would vote to permit this dangerous practice at all is beyond comprehension. Then again, you can't legislative stupidity away.

Order #5. Urge Governor Deval Patrick to issue an executive order requiring all new homes and businesses to be zero net energy buildings by 2030.   Councillor Davis

This is part of a group of three Orders from Council Davis in this same spirit. A definition of "zero net energy buildings" would be helpful.

Order #9. Urge the Cambridge Legislative Delegation and Governor Patrick to support and vote in favor of updating the Massachusetts Container Beverage Law.   Councillor Davis

This is also a good intention and probably a net positive idea, but there is an inefficiency in asking residents to schlep additional containers to supermarkets and redemption centers when they can just put them out in their recycling bins. Many will do just that, so the great beneficiaries of this proposal will be the scavengers raiding residential set-outs for deposit bottles. We can only hope that the survival and expansion and redemption centers are factored into this proposed law. For those of us who already recycle to the maximum extent, this change is actually a net inconvenience. - Robert Winters

Cambridge City Solicitor Don Drisdell takes the Cambridge Chronicle to task (May 26, 2009)
[while the Chronicle continues to get its legal advice from the goose guy]
Related documents:
   Judge MacLeod-Mancuso's rejection of post-trial motions (April, 2009)
   Monteiro jury verdict (May 2008)
   Summary judgment on City's motion to dismiss (February 2003)

May 18, 2009 City Council Agenda Highlights

The central item of business is the vote on the FY2010 Budget. Even though this was supposed to be "a tough budget year," this year's Budget sailed through the Finance Committee's budget hearings like green corn goes through the new May. The Council will likely take up the Budget vote (Committee Reports #1-3) early in the meeting before taking up the rest of the agenda. There are a few other items of interest, such as:

Order #2. That the City Manager is requested to make available adequate funds to the City Council so that the City Council can hire its own legal expert to review relevant issues in pending litigation.   Councillor Kelley, Mayor Simmons and Councillor Reeves

This is a serious Order with potentially serious consequences. The City is dealing with the consequences of a jury decision to award an absurd amount of money to a former City employee (Malvina Monteiro) who went fishing for cash and reeled in a big one. The City appealed the jury decision, but the latest appeal was denied. Other lawsuits against the City filed by the same lawyer (Ellen Zucker) are waiting in the wings and the City is continuing to spend cash for outside legal counsel in the Monteiro case. Some city councillors have suggested that the City should just pay out this ridiculous jury award, cut its losses, and not pursue any further appeals. The City Manager has stated that he has no intention of paying a dime toward a legal decision he and others in his administration feel is without merit.

One has to wonder how this City Council would go about deciding who its "legal expert" would be if this Order were to pass. Would Councillors Kelley, Simmons, and Reeves make the call? Could there be five votes for someone they could all agree on? The truth is that we have a City Solicitor who is a good lawyer who is very well-versed in the Monteiro case as well as the other pending cases, and it's likely that the city councillors heard an earful at last week's Executive Session on this matter. Could it be that the 3 sponsors of this Order simply didn't like what they heard in Executive Session? It will be VERY interesting to see if this Order gets 5 votes in its current form.

Order #5. That the City Manager is requested to work with the Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department to disseminate information to bicyclists through various methods of communication reminding them of the "rules of the road" pertaining to bicycles and that their adherence is important to the safety of motorists, pedestrians and fellow cyclists.   Vice Mayor Seidel

Been there, done that.

Order #9. That the City Manager and the Mayor are requested to report to the Council on the status of the Harvard Senior Picnic.   Councillor Decker

It should be pointed out that the Harvard Senior Picnic has always been a prime campaign spot for City Council and School Committee candidates. Heaven forbid that the rumor turns out to be true and the picnic is not held this year. Perhaps Harvard could lay off a janitor or two to cover the costs of the picnic. - RW

An Inconvenient Truth - Global warming study sees smaller shift in sea levels (Boston Globe, May 15, 2009)
Keep doing the home insulation and the compact fluorescent bulbs, folks, but perhaps a little less alarm would be in order, even if that's inconvenient for your larger political goals. - RW

May 11, 2009 City Council Agenda Highlights

City Manager's Agenda #1. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to a Planning Board recommendation on the Lesley University zoning petition to extend the boundaries of the Business C zoning district in Porter Square and create a new Lesley Porter Overlay District.

This item is noteworthy only because the Planning Board "enthusiastically" favors the petition. You don't usually get such an emphatic statement from the Planning Board. The Porter Square Neighbors Association (PSNA) has been generally supportive of most of the proposed changes, at least from what I've seen on their listserv messages. What seems to be driving this enthusiasm is the relocation of the Art Institute of Boston (part of Lesley University) to the Porter Square area with the hope that this will positively change the character of the area. The option of restoring the stockyards was not discussed. Art is the new beef.

City Manager's Agenda #5. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative the Final Landmark Designation Study Report for the Shell Spectacular Sign at 187 Magazine Street at the corner of Memorial Drive.

I'm a local history buff - as anyone who's seen my bookshelves will attest. That said, I'm not quite to the point of viewing a gas station sign as an historic landmark. The Cambridge Historical Commission has a 24 page report on the landmarking of the sign. The irony is that if some commercial enterprise (particularly a multinational corporation) were to today propose erecting such a sign in Cambridge, it would likely be fiercely opposed.

City Manager's Agenda #7. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 09-38, regarding a report on methods and policies that are in place to guarantee that all residents have equal access to city information and services.

Order #19. Urge the Massachusetts Legislative Delegation to be aware of the need for universal broadband access for all members of the public and the elimination of the digital divide.   Councillor Davis

These items are noteworthy primarily because of their partial nonresponse to the Order of the previous meeting. That order primarily addressed the fact that some people choose to obtain information via methods other than Internet access either because of disability or personal preference. The Manager's response essentially says that you can read Legal Notices in the Cambridge Chronicle, go to a computer at a public library or other City facility, or read the semiannual CityView newsletter. This is all well and good, but I believe the real point of the original Order was to ensure that residents can get a verbal or mailed response to any reasonable information request made to any City department. Regarding Councillor Davis' Order, it would be interesting to see what the latest figures are on the "digital divide" in Cambridge. I suspect that many of those whom Davis wants to reach are already twittering away on their cellphones and texting their way down the streets and sidewalks of Cambridge. It's no longer a matter of who can open a browser and surf the web.

City Manager's Agenda #8. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 09-17, regarding a report on the possibility of creating a publicly accessible, appropriately confidential database of broad average or median neighborhood rents for retail space.

Though I was skeptical about Councillor Seidel's original Order on this, the information that came back from Director of Assessment Robert Reardon is actually quite interesting. Here it is:

Average Retail Rents per sq. ft. used for assessment as of January 1, 2008 based on 2007 data

Area Average Size Average Rent Median rent Max. Rent Min. Rent
East Cambridge 4,938 $17 $16 $41 $12
Kendall Square 10,758 $28 $29 $38 $17
MIT 13,530 $29 $28 $41 $13
Cambridgeport 1,392 $16 $16 $27 $9
Central Square 4,764 $24 $25 $43 $10
Cambridge Triangle 2,189 $21 $20 $41 $12
Harvard Square 5,262 $68 $72 $140 $25
Porter Square 7,389 $32 $34 $48 $17
North Cambridge 3,136 $19 $19 $33 $9
Alewife/West Cambridge 8,189 $25 $26 $55 $12
Citywide 5,436 $32 $25 $140 $9

One has to wonder who's paying $140/sq. ft. in Harvard Square and who's paying $9/sq. ft. in Cambridgeport and North Cambridge. Other information I would love to have is the differential in rents between premium street frontage and the side streets and back streets in places like Central Square. I've always felt that all commercial districts in Cambridge would fare better if the back streets and side streets were better developed for businesses that cannot afford top dollar rents on the main drag. There really is room for everyone.

Charter Right #1. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, Awaiting Report Item Number 08-141, regarding a report on the possibility of awarding points to affordable housing applicants based on the number of times an applicant has applied for housing. [Charter Right exercised by Councillor Maher on City Manager Agenda Number Four of Apr 27, 2009.]

There is something perverse about this. In an ideal world, access to publicly-subsidized affordable housing should be based on need and suitability of the tenant for a given housing situation. Why should "the number of times an applicant has applied" be a criteria at all? It seems that this only creates an incentive for people to apply early and often in order to get a better position in the pecking order. It seems that affordable housing programs (and other initiatives) are already subject to abuse by those who are less than perfectly honest about their income and need. This will not improve things to create other ways to game the system.

Resolution #26. Congratulations to Laura Nichols on the occasion of being appointed to the position of Executive Director of the Cambridge Consumers’ Council.   Councillor Davis

I note this Resolution only to again say what a great guy former Executive Director (and now gentleman farmer) Paul Schlaver is and that his successor Laura Nichols is cut from the same cloth as Paul. I have often heard tales from residents of how helpful the Cambridge Consumer's Council has been.

Resolution #28. Thanks to the Central Square Restaurant Association participants for their successful Central Square Clean Up on May 3, 2009.   Councillor Davis

Order #9. That the City Manager is requested to direct the Commissioner of Public Works to increase the cleaning efforts in Carl Barron Plaza, as well as other benches and areas in Central Square where liquor bottles, cigarette butts and other forms of trash are routinely discarded and render benches unclean and unusable.   Mayor Simmons

Order #10. That the City council urge the License Commission to consider requiring all licensed establishments to be responsible for cleaning the cigarette butts and packaging in front of their business or risk being fined.   Mayor Simmons

Order #16. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Commissioner of Public Works to direct DPW crews collecting trash to clean out the trash and debris that collects and rots in the metal trash cage the supports the barrel.   Mayor Simmons

These Resolutions and Orders all seem to have grown out of the recent First Annual Clean Cambridge Spring Cleanup. It's worth noting that this wasn't really the "first" such cleanup. I participated in a very significant Central Square cleanup with City Year volunteers about ten years ago in which we did a lot of graffiti removal in addition to a general cleanup. After this year's efforts there was a noticeable improvement in Central Square, but it took no time before the slovenly smokers clogged up everything with their detritus. Would it be so difficult for the bars and restaurants to hire or assign someone to clean up after their patrons?

On a related note, our dear friends at the Department of Public Works really should methodically move up and down Mass. Ave. in Central Square restoring or removing the steel grates at the base of all the trees. They are a trip hazard now and really serve no useful function. While there, this would be a good time to systematically repair the brick sidewalks and replace the hundreds of missing bricks.

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Director of Traffic, Parking and Transportation to determine whether metered parking spaces in the East Cambridge residential streets can be converted to residential parking due to the decrease in courthouse traffic and increase in residential units.   Councillor Toomey

This Order will likely be filed in the same wastebasket that Traffic Director Susan Clippinger uses to file all of Councillor Toomey's Orders. It's a shame, really, because there are many simple fixes that could be made to make everyone's life easier. Parking meters were installed in front of the old Longfellow School building across from my house when the Main Library moved there. The Library's now gone, but the meters remain. Virtually all of the businesses on my side of Broadway are now residences or vacant, yet the meters remain. In Somerville, they have many metered areas where residents with stickers can park for free - an excellent compromise, especially for those who wish to use metered spaces just for overnight parking without having to move their cars at 8am. It sure would be nice if Cambridge could be as smart as Somerville. While we're on the subject, whatever happened to Councillor Toomey's request that the state-mandated Cambridge Traffic Board be appointed that would be empowered to review regulations made by the Traffic Director? Inconvenience is no excuse for ignoring the law, even for department heads.

Order #13. That the City Manager is requested to create a position for a Green Streets Coordinator to continue the coordination of the program currently performed by Janie Katz-Christy in recent years which has created a sustainable initiative that is being replicated around the world.   Mayor Simmons

I'm all for Green Streets and sustainability 'n stuff, but isn't this the wrong time to be creating new positions in a bad economy?

Order #14. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to consider a cost benefit analysis for refurbishing the former bath-house at Corporal Burns Park so that it might draw income for the city and simultaneously provide valuable service to residents and visitors to the park.   Mayor Simmons

As long as Mayor Simmons is talking only about a park-related use, this is a lot better proposal than what former City Councillor Ed Cyr and others proposed in the early 90's. Back then their bright idea was to create a "Land Bank" of properties on which, you guessed it, affordable housing could be built. Included in the proposal was the building in Corporal Burns Park as well as all sorts of other small parcels around the city. Those were the great days of the CCA's penchant for "solutions in search of a problem." Thankfully, that trial balloon crashed. Unfortunately, a decade later the City sponsors the development of housing on any postage-stamp parcel it can deliver to its nonprofit partners. Would it it be so dreadful just to leave a few undeveloped square feet of land here and there around the city? Must everything be built over?

Order #17. That the City Manager is requested to direct the appropriate city departments to increase the City’s responses to a scale proportionate to the emergency and consistent with the city’s own Climate Protection goals for 2010 and beyond.   Councillor Decker, Councillor Toomey and Councillor Davis

Rumor has it that quite a few people intend to speak on this Order. At the risk of infuriating my environmentally conscious comrades, the vagueness of this Order worries me. It highlights the rise in greenhouse gases and calls for a "response proportionate to the emergency." This could be interpreted to mean that the ability to own and operate an automobile in Cambridge should be made dramatically more expensive (even if you only occasionally drive), and that every little change made to your home should go through an onerous and expensive regulatory review. Everyone who lived through Cambridge's rent control decades remembers how the claim of a housing emergency was twisted into a justification for oppressive and often idiotic regulations that were, in fact, politically motivated. I want very much to see good environmental initiatives in Cambridge, but I remain extremely wary of any effort to use a perceived "emergency" as an excuse for carrying out an agenda that will likely have very political overtones. The efforts of the Cambridge Energy Alliance seem the far more appropriate way to proceed, i.e. provide financial incentives and technical assistance for people "to do the right thing." - Robert Winters

Superintendent's Contract between Cambridge School Committee and Jeffrey M. Young (HTML)

The First Annual Clean Cambridge Spring Cleanup took place last weekend (Sat, May 2 and Sun, May 3). Find out more at http://www.cleancambridge.org.

April 27, 2009 Cambridge City Council Agenda Highlights

Without question, the most significant item on tonight's agenda is the submission of the FY2010 Budget (City Manager's Agenda #1). The annual Budget Hearings of the City Council's Finance Committee will commence this Thursday, April 30 at 9:30am. Here is a list of the items I found interesting, important, or ridiculous:

Reconsideration #1. Reconsideration filed by Councillor Reeves on the adoption of Order Number Thirteen of Apr 13, 2009 requesting the City Council convey its wishes for the continuing publication of The Boston Globe to the publishers of The Boston Globe.

Apparently, Councillor Reeves wants the Boston Globe to die a painful death along with the Cambridge Chronicle and any other media outlet who has failed to meet his high standards of professional ethics. This Order passed at the Council's April 13 meeting, but Councillor Reeves would like another bite at the apple. The political cynics among us might observe that it has been Mr. Reeves' political modus operandi to always identify someone or something as his biannual evil entity around which he can rally his campaign. This is really the game of Al Vellucci who would rail endlessly against Harvard University while at the same time have dinner with then Harvard President Derek Bok. In 2007, Reeves' game focused on the Cambridge Chronicle (and others) as persecutors of his noble reign as mayor. We'll have to wait and see who he designates as this year's political bad guy. The Boston Globe? Cambridge Chronicle? Cambridge Health Alliance? Harvard University?

City Manager's Agenda #1. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the FY2010 submitted budget and appropriation orders.

The FY10 Budget Book will be available after all the city councillors get their copies. It will also be available online, and it's always worth the read. Comparison with previous years' budgets is a good exercise, especially now that things are tighter in the current economic climate.

City Manager's Agenda #15. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $14,290,000 to continue sewer projects in the Harvard Square, Agassiz, and Alewife Watershed areas of the City.

Perhaps not so interesting to everyone, but this is the stuff that keeps a city running and, say what you will about the City Manager, one legacy of Robert Healy will be a dramatically improved infrastructure in Cambridge.

City Manager's Agenda #18. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 09-25, regarding a report on the installation of black fire hydrants in West Cambridge.

This grew out of an Order from Councillor Decker which apparently sought to find fault in the City's infrastructure in the wake of a serious house fire on Lexington Avenue. See note above. In any case, it's interesting information.

Order #5. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council on what efforts can be done to increase the number of Cambridge businesses and institutions that compost.   Vice Mayor Seidel

I'm not so sure that this City Council Order will accomplish anything other than to distract Recycling Director Randy Mail from the great job she's been doing to promote organics recycling in Cambridge. For your information, the possibility of residential curbside organics recycling is on the table for future contracts for recycling collection and processing. Whether or not it happens anytime soon is a matter of relative cost.

Order #6. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council on methods and policies that are in place to guarantee that all residents have equal access to city information and services.   Vice Mayor Seidel

The rationale behind this Order is to ensure that City officials do not simply say "it's on the web" as the final word in response to requests for information by Cambridge residents. This is a valid point - not everyone has web access, and many simply prefer to get information verbally or in print. It's abundantly clear that widespread access to web-based resources has dramatically increased the ability to deliver detailed information to residents, but there's the risk (and the reality) that some officials will use this in order to avoid assisting those with reasonable (and sometimes unreasonable) requests. I would liken this to the development of paved roads that made transportation much faster but which has often made things more difficult for pedestrians and cyclists. The information superhighway should not eclipse other avenues of communication.

Order #8. That the City Council request that the City Manager consider the possibility of establishing multi-sector (public, private, and university) partnership that funds a 24 Hour Drop-In Center to provide a variety of essential services to individuals on the street.   Mayor Simmons

..... which will, of course, be located in Central Square and further secure its future as the City's favorite dumping ground.

Order #12. That the City Council go on record as urging the Cambridge Legislative Delegation to work to enact a municipal relief bill that allows local option taxes and closes the telecommunications property tax loopholes that give the telephone company a $50 million tax break.   Councillor Davis

Translation: Councillor Davis would like to raise your taxes. This Order will likely pass on a unanimous vote. - Robert Winters

2008-2009 Goals of the Cambridge School Committee and Administration

April 14: NOTICE - The Cambridge School Committee has been CANCELLED

OK, perhaps not. However, right now I'm wondering whether or not it should be. I have occasionally attended School Committee meetings over the years and have been known to opine that their primary focus is more about creating and maintaining School Department jobs than educating young people. So, when it was announced that they were having a Roundtable meeting on trends in mathematics education, I was thrilled. Just once, perhaps, the Cambridge School Committee would have a meeting that focused on educational specifics.

Alas, no. With virtually no notice, the meeting was cancelled - not postponed, just cancelled. Just a little notice buried deep in the School Department website. Granted, this meeting was not going to draw the crowds of the previous week when the race of the School Superintendent candidates was used to get people all riled up. This was just about mathematics - not race or class or gender or compact fluorescent light bulbs or Salvadoran elections - just something that young people might actually need to know something about if they ever want to get a job in Cambridge some day (other than a job in politics or the School Department).

I showed up for the meeting and was informed by one of the more helpful members of the School Committee that the meeting had been cancelled "because we have to pass a budget." It's not that I'm completely uninformed about what goes on around town - I even try in my own way to let people know what's going on. I don't mind wasting some time, but I really don't like it when others waste my time. Inserting a cancellation notice in an obscure location just doesn't cut it.

So, to the Cambridge School Committee, you can now go back to talking about all of your nonacademic issues. Let me know when I should next walk to CRLS for something other than a letdown. Maybe, just maybe, you'll grace us again with a meeting that focuses on educational specifics. I won't hold my breath. - Robert Winters

April 13 - There's not much to be said about the April 13 City Council Agenda. They'll have to do something with the Decker-Reeves farcical Order (Charter Right #1) to provide a City "stimulus package" to Harvard and MIT, but my guess is that they'll just let it fade away or refer it to the University Relations Committee to be properly buried. There's a more adult Order #12 from Councillors Davis and Ward on this week's agenda that speaks to the same issue:

Order #12. That the City Manager is requested to urge Harvard, MIT and other businesses to use the progressive practice of asking for concessions from all employees at all levels before resorting to layoffs of the lowest paid workers.   Councillor Davis and Councillor Ward

The Order also calls for referring this to the University Relations Committee, the only Council committee which has yet to meet even one time this Council term. It would seem that this City Council would prefer to lob grenades at Harvard and MIT rather than actually have any meaningful discussions with university representatives.

I'd love to see the Council do something in response to Councillor Kelley's Order #4:

Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council prior to the final June meeting on the City's plans to enforce relevant laws about noise from motorcycles and loud cars.   Councillor Kelley

Of course we've been down this road before - and it always leads nowhere. Expect at least one councillor to suggest that cracking down on ear-splitting car sound systems would be an infringement on cultural rights and civil liberties. - Robert Winters

April 7 - The Cambridge School Committee tonight voted 5-2 to select Dr. Jeffrey Young as its next Superintendent of Schools. The next step is to negotiate a contract. Voting for Jeffrey Young were Joe Grassi, Marc McGovern, Patty Nolan, Luc Schuster, and Nancy Tauber. Voting for Carolyn Turk were Fred Fantini and Denise Simmons.

This was one of the most intense meetings I've witnessed in a long time. Most of the people in the audience were very partisan supporters of either Jeffrey Young or Carolyn Turk, and there is no question that this partisanship was highly correlated with race. Indeed, once the vote was taken many supporters of Carolyn Turk marched out of the room shouting "status quo" even though the School Committee had, in fact, just voted to make a change from Interim Superintendent Turk to Superintendent Young.

Without a doubt the most devastated of all the School Committee members was Mayor Simmons. To this observer, it seemed she was doing everything she could just to keep herself together. Even though all members had pledged to work together regardless who was chosen, when Fred Fantini (who had also voted for Turk) made such a motion, Mayor Simmons voted "present".

From my vantage point (and the luxury of not having to take sides on this matter) I will state that this was a very adult decision from this School Committee. This is not a comment on who they chose, but rather about the courage they showed in making their decisions based on what they really believed, regardless of political consequences. There will be some political and personal fallout as a result of this vote, but I can honestly say that my respect for all seven of them went up a notch or two based on their courage and convictions - regardless of who received their vote. - Robert Winters

April 6: March 30 and April 6 City Council Agenda Highlights and other Notes from the Peoples Republic

The March 30 City Council meeting was recessed at the start in order that members could attend the School Superintendent dog and pony show at CRLS, i.e. the first of two School Committee meetings on consecutive days which should lead to the selection of a Superintendent of Schools. The agenda of the April 6 City Council meeting includes all of the March 30 items plus a number of new items. The three Superintendent finalists are Dr. Mary C. Nash, currently the Academic Superintendent for the Boston Public Schools; Dr. Carolyn L. Turk, currently Deputy Superintendent of the Cambridge Public Schools; and Dr. Jeffrey M. Young, currently Superintendent of the Newton Public Schools. [Update: Mayor Simmons announced at the beginning of the April 6 City Council meeting that the choice is now down to two candidates - Carolyn Turk and Jeffrey Young. The School Committee will go into Executive Session at its meeting on April 7 at 6:00pm at CRLS in order to deliberate. They are then expected to emerge at some point and vote in open session to choose the next Superintendent of Schools.]

I have not followed the current Superintendent drama as it has developed over the last several months, primarily because watching this School Committee is like listening to the sound of fingernails scratching a chalkboard (OK, maybe just some of the School Committee members have this effect). There's also the "process junkie" problem common to all too many decisions in Cambridge. Elected officials strive for the appearance of public input - whether or not they're actually listening. Then there's the "consensus" goal common to Green Party aficionados like Luc Schuster. Add to one School Committee member's need to come across as technically proficient as she cherry-picks data to serve her agenda and you have all the ingredients of a very bad movie. Sometimes I think we'd be better off if the School Committee just disappeared into a back room with a box of cigars and came out with an announcement of who they're hiring. As a taxpayer, my greatest concern is that the School Committee may have voted to piss away $100,000 for a search process that was just political cover for a decision they had already made before the search began. We may learn the answer on Tuesday (April 7).

I attended the first of the two Superintendent candidate forums, and I'm sure we'll do just fine with any of the three candidates. However, it was abundantly clear at the Monday night forum that an effort to pack the hall with supporters of Carolyn Turk had been undertaken. In a time when the race of the person to be hired should be less of a factor, it is quite clear that there are some who would make it a primary criterion. For example, former CRLS teacher Larry Aaronson had an Op-Ed in the Cambridge Chronicle titled, "Cambridge School Committee vote is classic affirmative action in the best sense". Comments on the Chronicle website (11 as of this writing) are all signed by anonymous pseudonyms, and all of them are shilling for their preferred candidate. There's also a copy of an e-mail message from School Committee member Marc McGovern on the Chronicle blog that hints at the overwhelming pressure being directed at those who will vote on this. This "classic affirmative action in the best sense" to which Aaronson refers may well lead to accusations of either tokenism or racism by the time the vote is taken, and one thing I would say about Cambridge is that elected officials always tend to run for political cover whenever anything with potential racial overtones comes up.

Here are a few noteworthy items from tonight's combined agenda:

City Manager's Agenda #1. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the City of Cambridge retaining the rare distinction of being one of approximately twenty-four municipalities in the United States with three Triple A ratings from the nation's three major credit rating agencies.

Resolution #19. Congratulations to the City Manager and his fiscal staff for achieving a Triple A bond rating for the City of Cambridge for the tenth consecutive year.   Councillor Toomey, Councillor Maher

It's the same story every year, but it's still worth noting that the City's good fiscal health makes many things possible that other cities cannot afford.

City Manager's Agenda #10. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the appointment of Peter Sheinfeld as a Cambridge Election Commission for a 4-year term to expire Mar 31, 2013.

Congratulations, Peter!

City Manager's Agenda #14. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of a $50,000 Grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's (MTC) Clean Energy Choice program to the Public Investment Grant Fund Public Works Extraordinary Expenditures account. This grant will provide funding to install two 2 kilowatt PV systems on the roof of the DPW Frazier Administration building and the Frisoli Youth Center.

I find this noteworthy primarily as an indication of a slow but sure trend in the City toward environmentally smart initiatives. There was a day when even establishing a recycling program was seen as a radical change in the City. Now we're talking about photovoltaics on DPW buildings, LEEDS-certified buildings, citywide energy conservation programs, and even the possibility of organics recycling (for composting).

Order #11. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council on the process that will allow additional cable and internet providers to do business in the City, and to clarify if there are any obstacles in place that may need to be re-evaluated in order to provide competitive options to residents.   Councillor Toomey and Councillor Davis

This Order is similar to other Orders that have come before and gone nowhere. One thing that's different now is that a wider range of TV programming need no longer come into homes via coaxial cable, and Internet access is now becoming available in other ways. One thing not mentioned in this Order is the fact that with the switch to digital broadcasting, there is the capacity to have MANY more programming options available "over the air" with quality reception. For example, there is no reason whatsoever why C-SPAN could not be made available for free to every home via digital broadcast. Same goes for all of the cable news channels that derive most of their revenue from advertising. The City Council, as well as state legislatures and Congress should be taking a much broader look at the possibilities, especially in regard to news and information programming.

Order #12. Urge all residents to join with the volunteers of the Clean Cambridge Campaign who will on May 2nd and 3rd, 2009, in an effort to clean Cambridge sidewalks and neighborhoods.   Councillor Maher

I once proposed that we should have an annual "Cambridge Day" where all property owners would be encouraged to remove all graffiti and generally clean up leading up to the Big Day. Some neighboring towns have long held special days, e.g. Allston-Brighton Day which has a parade.

Order #13. That the City Council formally request that the Beal Companies consider immediately withdrawing the zoning petition for modifications of the One Kendall Square Cinema site and engage in further dialogue with neighborhood leaders and affected neighbors such that a full discussion can be had prior to any re-filing.   Councillor Maher and Councillor Toomey

The cynic in me wonders if the real motivation for this Order is to make sure that any deadlines for City Council action on such a zoning petition would occur after Election Day this November. [Update: Beal Companies has apparently agreed to withdraw their petition for now.]

Order #14. Economic stimulus package for Harvard and MIT.   Councillor Decker and Councillor Reeves

This is classic comedy from this comic duo. For example, "Payment In Lieu of Taxes" (acronym PILOT) has now mutated into "pilot" in this Order. This should be be added to the Council comic dictionary along with the verbs "charter right", "charter wrote", and "charter written". Regarding the substance of the Order, this one reads like an Abbott & Costello routine (only less funny). Apparently the genesis of this Order is the fact that Harvard and MIT have laid off a handful of cleaning staff as part of their general economizing during the current economic downturn. The comedy duo of Decker & Reeves (not to be confused with Nichols & May, or Stiller & Meara, or Burns & Allen) offer the following routine:

RESOLVED: That the Cambridge City Council will introduce its own economic stimulus package for Harvard and MIT; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Cambridge City Council will give the university a one-time pass on partial payment of its pilot to the City of Cambridge in order to help save these jobs; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the City will forgive $398,372.00 of Harvard University's pilot, which would cover the cost of the nineteen cleaners who would lose their jobs; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the City will forgive $70,688.00 of MIT's pilot in order for then to retain the two laid off cleaners.

This Order is plainly illegal (hey, doesn't one half of this duo have a Harvard law degree) in its flouting of the state's Anti-Aid Amendment to direct City money towards an institution not under its exclusive control. It's also hysterical that the City of Cambridge should be directing Harvard & MIT on their employment practices. I insist that this comic duo file an Order for next week's meeting granting me a tenure-track job at Harvard or MIT. Hey, isn't that what constituent service is all about?

We save the best for last:

Committee Report #1. A communication was received from D. Margaret Drury, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor David Maher and Councillor Henrietta Davis, Co-Chairs of the Government Operations and Rules Committee, for a hearing held on Mar 19, 2009 to formalize job descriptions and administrative oversight for assistants to city councillors.

When the matter of "research assistants" first came up several years ago, I stated that these were de facto political appointments and that they should not, as such, be paid out of taxpayer money. Reorganization or additional staff in the City Council Office may be necessary and useful, but I never bought into the notion that every councillor should get their own personal staff. The term "research assistant" was and is a nonsense term invented to obscure the reality of the job. This Committee Report implicitly acknowledges this in proposing to change the name to "Aide to City Councillor". Let me be clear that with but one exception, I have no objections to these aides as individuals. Here's what we have right now:

Councillor Davis' aide used to be her campaign treasurer;

Councillor Decker's former aides have been campaign managers and campaign workers, and her current aide is a relative;

Councillor Kelley has no "research assistant";

Councillor Maher's aide is a long-time political supporter;

Councillor Reeves' aide is a long-time political supporter;

Vice-Mayor Seidel has not had an aide but is now considering it;

Mayor Simmons has staff in her role as Mayor;

Councillor Toomey's aide is simultaneously being paid out of his political campaign account.

Councillor Ward does not yet (as far as I know) have an aide.

Are you detecting a pattern here? The main comment I made at this hearing was that the job description for these aides is really the job description of a city councillor, and that's who should be doing the "research" and answering the letters and phone calls. Being a city councillor was never meant to be anything other than a part-time job, and judging from the other jobs held by most councillors this remains the case. Councillors are nonetheless paid a generous full-time salary. If you're paid full-time, you should be able to handle all the responsibilities of the job, and if there's an excess of work, pass it along to the office staff - just as was done for many decades. If a constituent asks for something that should properly be done by City department staff, forward the call or e-mail to the appropriate department. If a City Council subcommittee needs additional research, ask the City Clerk to make the arrangements or hire the appropriate people.

It's tough enough for challengers to go up against incumbents in a municipal election without using taxpayer money to hire political staff and supporters. - RW



Excerpt from "Sketches of Boston, Past and Present", by Isaac Smith Homans, 1851


Campaign Finance Reports for Cambridge Municipal Election Candidates (2007 - March 2009) (PDF)


Cost Per #1 Vote - 2007 Cambridge Municipal Election

CC Candidate receipts expend #1 votes $ per #1 vote order
elected
Notes
Moree, Gregg 23000.00 23000.00 111 207.21   2007-2008 totals
Decker, Marjorie 56680.22 54154.66 1069 50.66 5 2007-2008 totals
Reeves, Ken 64080.26 60073.93 1217 49.36 4 2007-2008 totals
Murphy, Brian 53971.09 50481.02 1160 43.52 6 2007-2008 totals
Toomey, Tim 63651.15 51085.04 1339 38.15 2 2007 totals
Davis, Henrietta 66454.54 60554.15 1592 38.04 1 2007-2008 totals
Simmons, Denise 40131.00 34542.22 996 34.68 7 2007-2008 totals
Sullivan, Edward J. 34560.00 28621.85 831 34.44   2007-2008 totals
Maher, David 51000.00 40938.30 1312 31.20 3 2007-2008 totals
Seidel, Sam 26994.75 29105.12 1037 28.07 9 2007-2008 totals
Kelley, Craig 30658.47 25963.78 1118 23.22 8 2007-2008 totals
Janik, Jonathan 5056.29 5056.31 261 19.37   2007-2008 totals
Ward, Larry 11385.44 11302.60 699 16.17   2007-2008 totals
Moore, M. Kevin 2760.00 1160.00 251 4.62   2007-2008 totals
Podgers, Kathy 0.00 0.00 92 0.00   2007-2008 totals
SC Candidate receipts expend #1 votes $ per #1 vote  order
elected
Notes
McGovern, Marc 26061.00 26260.40 2277 11.53 1 2007-2008 totals
Tauber, Nancy 9756.91 9533.09 1246 7.65 6 2007-2008 totals
Schuster, Luc 10760.00 12589.36 1680 7.49 4 2007-2008 totals
Nolan, Patty 11828.19 12184.47 1672 7.29 3 2007-2008 totals
Lemily Wiggins, Gail  6925.00 7266.29 1024 7.10   2007-2008 totals
Grassi, Joseph 8709.61 8821.07 1629 5.42 5 2007-2008 totals
Harding, Richard 6729.00 7710.60 1562 4.94   2007-2008 totals
Malner, Stefan 920.01 574.41 133 4.32   2007-2008 totals
Fantini, Alfred E. 6630.32 6114.00 2017 3.03 2 2007-2008 totals
Note: Anthony Galluccio is not included in City Council candidate totals.

March 23, 2009 City Council Agenda highlights

Here are the items I found interesting, important, or ridiculous:

Mgr #3. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to the block rates for water consumption and sewer use for the period beginning Apr 1, 2009 and ending Mar 31, 2010.

Here's the lowdown:

 

Annual
Consumption*
FY07
Water
Rate
FY08
Water
Rate

FY09
Water
Rate

FY10
Proposed
Water
Rate

FY07
Sewer
Rate
FY08
Sewer
Rate

FY09
Sewer
Rate

FY10
Proposed
Sewer
Rate

FY07
total
FY08
total
FY09
total
FY10 prop.
total
Block 1

0-40 CcF

$2.84 $2.84

$2.90

$2.98

$6.44 $6.44

$6.75

$7.28

$9.28 $9.28 $9.65 $10.26

Block 2

41-400 CcF

$3.05 $3.05

$3.11

$3.19

$6.82 $6.82

$7.15

$7.71

$9.87 $9.87 $10.26 $10.90

Block 3

401-2,000 CcF

$3.23 $3.23

$3.30

$3.39

$7.32 $7.32

$7.67

$8.28

$10.55 $10.55 $10.97 $11.67

Block 4

2,001-10,000 CcF

$3.44 $3.44

$3.51

$3.60

$7.89 $7.89

$8.27

$8.92

$11.33 $11.33 $11.78 $12.52

Block 5

Over 10,000 CcF

$3.72 $3.72

$3.80

$3.90

$8.39 $8.39

$8.79

$9.48

$12.11 $12.11 $12.59 $13.38

All rates are per CcF (100 cu. ft., approx. 750 gallons). The water rates are proposed to increase an average of 2.7% (compared to 0% and 2.1% the previous two years). The sewer rates are proposed to increase an average of 7.9% (compared to 0% and 4.8% the previous two years). The combined rates are proposed to increase an average of 6.3% (compared to 0% and 4.0% the previous two years). The City Manager also reports that the annual combined water/sewer rate is projected to increase by an average of approximately 5.7% each year for FY10-14.

Order #9. That the City Manager is requested to require appropriate City departments and staff to begin collecting data based on gender and to make available to the Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women and all other departments the gender based data while securing anonymity and confidentiality as appropriate.   Mayor Simmons

Though I'm sure to get some nasty e-mail messages for saying so, this is ridiculous. What's next, requiring weight, height, and tattoo information in the annual City census?

Order #13. That the City Manager is requested to obtain from the Fire Department how many black hydrants are in the West Cambridge area, and whether or not the number of black hydrants in West Cambridge is relatively high in comparison with the rest of the city.   Councillor Decker

It would appear that Decker is feeling the sting from the Mar 2 response to her Dec 15 Order about fire hydrant pressure during the Lexington Avenue fire several months ago. Will there be an upcoming Council Order establishing a Fire Hydrant Equity Commission? I'm sure she'll want it to be fully staffed with health and dental benefits.

Order #15. That the City Manager is requested to report to the City Council with a proposal to label trees at appropriate locations to educate Cambridge residents.   Councillor Davis

Great idea, really - and simple and inexpensive. Just like at the arboretum or the Mt. Auburn Cemetery. - RW



I found this 1950s vintage photo of a DPW garbage truck (a.k.a. "honey wagon") in an MIT collection. There used to be separate food waste, i.e. garbage, collection back then. As one native Cantabrigian commented, "I remember the simple pleasures of youth sitting with my grandfather on the front porch on garbage pick up day on a hot summer's day. The pungent smell would wrap the entire neighborhood and every fly was on escort duty above the truck."  Keep Cambridge Clean!


Perverse Cosmic Myopia - David Brooks, New York Times

My favorite columnist, David Brooks, again hits the nail on the head regarding Mr. Obama's handling of the current economic crisis: "The president of the United States has decided to address this crisis while simultaneously tackling the four most complicated problems facing the nation: health care, energy, immigration and education. Why he has not also decided to spend his evenings mastering quantum mechanics and discovering the origins of consciousness is beyond me." The whole column, as always with our Mr. Brooks, is worth the read.

March 16 Quiz Question: How many Cambridge voters have voted in the last 20 elections without a miss, including all primary elections? Are you on the list?

I just loaded the latest registered voter list, the most recent street listing, and all of the voter history files from November 1997 to November 2008 into my database software. Anything else you'd like to know???

-- Robert Winters

This Old Land of Cambridge - The true story of the geological history of Cambridge - by George Ehrenfried


Shakeup at the Election Commission

Anyone who knows anything about the manner in which people are appointed to the Cambridge Election Commission knows that it's all about politics. Sometimes it's also about payback, and the Republican City Committee is giving Republican Commissioner Artis Spears much the same treatment that the Democratic City Committee gave former Commissioner Sondra Schier in 1994. Commissioner Spears has served on the Cambridge Election Commission since 1980, the longest of all four current commissioners. Each political committee nominates three people in alternate years from which the City Manager must choose (by April 1) to serve for a four-year term.

Two years ago, in 2007, the Republican City Committee forwarded a ranked list of three nominees to the City Manager as their nominees: Peter Sheinfeld, Fred Baker, and Ethridge King. Though not required to do so, the City Manager typically chooses the first choice of the committee, but in 2007 he passed over the top two nominees and chose Ethridge King to fill the slot. The word at the time was that Artis Spears had lobbied the City Manager heavily to appoint Ethridge King. As one might expect, this did not go over so well among Republican City Committee members.

On Monday, February 9, the Republican City Committee met for their biannual nomination meeting and chose Peter Sheinfeld as their #1 nominee on a 22-9 vote. Their 2nd nominee was Henry Irving on a 20-13 vote. Their 3rd nominee was Fred Baker on a 20-12 vote with 1 abstention. In each case it was a choice between two candidates, and Artis Spears was defeated in each round.

The rules governing the process are spelled out here: http://rwinters.com/docs/Acts1921Chap239.htm. The relevant section is this: "SECTION 3. As the terms of the several election commissioners expire, and in case a vacancy occurs in said board, the city manager shall so appoint their successors that the members of the board shall, as equally may be, represent the two leading political parties, and in no case shall an appointment be so made as to cause the board to have more than two members of the same political party. Every such appointment shall be made by the city manager from a list to be submitted to him by the city committee of the political party from the members of which the position is to be filled, containing the names of three enrolled members of such party in said city, selected by vote of a majority of members of such committee present and voting at a duly called meeting; provided, that not less than thirty such members are present and voting at such meeting; and every member of said board shall serve until the expiration of his term and until his successor has qualified. No appointment to said board need be confirmed by the city council."

State law does not specify that the list of three nominees be a ranked list. This is a practice that both party committees choose to do in an effort to have as much control as possible over the eventual choice, but it has no legal standing whatsoever.

It's a Municipal Election Year
This year (2009) is an odd-numbered year and that means it's a municipal election year. Normally we'd be hearing rumors by now about who might be seeking a City Council or School Committee seat in November, but Cambridge has been quiet. [Feb 5]

So....., as Tip O'Neill used to ask, "Whattaya hear?" Let me know. Let's get those rumors flying. - RW


The Rumor Mill:
The word is that Kevin Moore (who ran for City Council in 2007) will throw his hat in the ring for School Committee in 2009. We're still waiting to hear about Richard Harding and Gail Lemily Wiggins. [as reported by Deep Throat]

The word from our CCJ correspondent in South America is that Jeff Ross (one of the four candidates who ran for Jarrett Barrios' vacant Senate seat in 2007) may be interested in a Cambridge City Council seat. [Feb 16]

Luc Schuster wrote a letter (Feb 20) in the Cambridge Chronicle stating that he will not seek reelection to the School Committee later this year.


Feb 16 - With Brian Murphy's departure from the Cambridge City Council (and Larry Ward's soon-to-be ascension to a Council seat on Feb 24), there are rumblings in East Cambridge about assembling a slate of candidates or recruiting individual candidates to seek a Council seat. The fact that Brian Murphy was essentially the successor to Jim Braude who was essentially the successor to Frank Duehay may be an indication of where there are some votes to be had this November.

All City Council and School Committee seats are at-large seats, so you can't absolutely say that any one councillor succeeds another, but it's still a good first approximation. Few would argue, for example, that Alice Wolf was succeeded in 1993 by Katherine Triantafillou and Kathy Born (a twofer with Ed Cyr getting bumped in that election), and Marjorie Decker's election in 1999 was clearly at the expense of Triantafillou. "Mickey the Dude" Sullivan's seat was passed to his son Edward Sullivan in 1949 and then to his brother Walter Sullivan in 1959 who passed it on to his son Michael Sullivan in 1993 who served until 2007. Lenny Russell was succeeded by his wife Sheila Russell in 1985, and the "Russell base" was effectively passed to David Maher in 1999. In recent years, the changing demographics of Cambridge have created opportunities for candidates like Craig Kelley and Sam Seidel, and those same shifting sands together with changes in voter turnout could create further opportunities for future candidates. That said, there's nothing like the departure of an incumbent to create a scramble by other candidates for the "base" of an exiting incumbent. The Sullivan and Galluccio (Independent) bases are still very much out there to be courted, and now you can add Brian Murphy's more CCA-oriented base to the mix.

Though it seems strange to have to say it, for those relative newcomers, the CCA (Cambridge Civic Association) was a local civic/political organization that was formed in 1945 out of three entities that had existed from the 1930's. The CCA aligned itself with the politically advantageous issue of rent control in 1969 and essentially died when rent control was wiped out in 1994. The CCA soldiered on and continued to endorse municipal candidates through the 2003 election, though half-heartedly at best. There have been no substantive organized candidate endorsements since then, and the winners and losers are now primarily determined by demographics and incumbency.

As one measure of the votes that may be lurking out there for this year's election, yesterday I ran the election software to determine who would have been elected in the 2007 election if Brian Murphy had been excluded. In that hypothetical, Edward Sullivan (Michael's cousin) would have picked up the 9th seat. However, under the "Vacancy Recount" provisions in state law for Cambridge's elections, the vacancy will be filled (officially on Feb 24) by Larry Ward. The basic logic of the procedure is that a vacancy should preferably be filled by that candidate who best matches the exiting incumbent. However, there really is no obvious match in this case among viable challengers. This observation should not be lost on those considering tossing their hat into the ring later this year.

Selected City of Cambridge References:

Plan E Charter (Cambridge's city charter)       Acts of 1921, Chapter 239 as amended (establishment of Cambridge Election Commission)

Mass. General Laws Chapter 54A (governing Cambridge's PR elections)

Pen Portraits of Prominent People - by Henry J. Mahoney Editor, Cambridge Sentinel - 1923

This book was published c. 1923 and features very witty one-page “pen portraits” (with photo) of prominent Cantabrigians of the day. I'll be adding names alphabetically as time permits. There are 182 portraits in the book.

It comes to mind that there may be some value in expanding these profiles to other prominent Cantabrigians who arrived on the scene after 1923, including prominent Cantabrigians of today. With this in mind, I extend the invitation to any and all who may wish to contribute their own “pen portraits” of Cambridge people. Contributions do not necessarily have to be in the style of Mr. Mahoney. Inclusion is, as always, subject to the erratic discretion of the editor.

Special thanks to Karen Welch for sending me the book. - RW

Political History of Cambridge in the 20th Century
written by Glenn Koocher, November 2004  --  edited by Robert Winters, July 2006 
[An alternate edit of this essay will appear, along with many other valuable essays, in a
centennial volume to be published by the Cambridge Historical Society in 2007.
]

Which People's Republic
written by Bill Cunningham, 1999


Cambridge School Volunteers is looking for people who can give one to two hours per week to help students in the Cambridge Public Schools, grades K through 12. No experience necessary. Call 617-349-6794 or e-mail csv@cpsd.us for more details.

Oliver Wendell Holmes – Morning Exercises of December 28, 1880
As recorded in the book 250th Anniversary of the Settlement of Cambridge (1881)


Robert Winters
Robert Winters, Editor
Cambridge Civic Journal
(about me)
Philosophy of the CCJ Editor

faces

The Cambridge Civic Journal is an independent newsletter of civic affairs in the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is published as a public service by Central Square Publications. All items are written by Robert Winters unless otherwise noted. [Of course, I do sometimes forget.]

Thought for these times:
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -- Blaise Pascal

Subscribe to the Cambridge Civic Journal.
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“The Number One thing I would emphasize is that journalists and bloggers would do well to see themselves as partners in the provision of information and that each can benefit greatly from the other. I’ve never seen this as a competition. It is especially true these days that local papers and young journalists are not very well-versed in the communities they serve. Much of the institutional memory has either died out or been bought out.” -- Robert Winters, mathematician and creator of the Cambridge Civic Journal, an online publication about Cambridge, MA (rwinters.com)

Jorkin: “Come, come, Mr. Fezziwig, we’re good friends besides good men of business. We’re men of vision and progress. Why don’t you sell out while the going’s good? You’ll never get a better offer. It’s the age of the machine, and the factory, and the vested interests. We small traders are ancient history, Mr. Fezziwig.”

Fezziwig: “It’s not just for money alone that one spends a lifetime building up a business, Mr. Jorkin…. It’s to preserve a way of life that one knew and loved. No, I can’t see my way to selling out to the new vested interests, Mr. Jorkin. I’ll have to be loyal to the old ways and die out with them if needs must.”

Scrooge: “I think I know what Mr. Fezziwig means, sir.”

Jorkin: “Oh, you hate progress and money, too, do you?”

Scrooge: “ I don't hate them, sir, but perhaps the machines aren’t such a good thing for mankind, after all.”

Memorable scene in "A Christmas Carol"

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