Scene 1 - The Car Accident
Scene 2 - The $100 Offer
Scene 3 - Law and Order
Scene 4 - It's Not My Fault, Blame Others
Scene 5 - It's Still Not My Fault
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Mayor's Car Accident - An Animated Re-enactment ... Sort of
Scene 1 - The Car Accident
Scene 2 - The $100 Offer
Scene 3 - Law and Order
Scene 4 - It's Not My Fault, Blame Others
Scene 5 - It's Still Not My Fault
Sunday, May 31, 2009
A Picture's Worth
The Boston Globe reported that a man was arrested at a strip club in Springfield for killing one man and injuring several others. The suspect is accused of shooting five people and stabbing a sixth during a 1:30 a.m. rampage at the strip club, Club 418.
The article continues, adult entertainment venues in Springfield have been the scene of violence before. Earlier this year a fight at Mardi Gras, not far from Club 418, resulted in the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man.
With the approval by the Fall River Licensing Board regarding Gary Lund's strip club Martinique on Rodman Street, it stirred my curiosity as to the composition of the Springfield neighborhood in which they have their strip clubs.
Here is the link to the neighborhood of Club 418 and the nearby Mardi Gras or you can use the Street View feature of Google to take a virtual drive through the neighborhood.
Club 418:
Mardi Gras:
There's no doubt that strip clubs have negative effects on the surrounding neighborhoods. However, there is no doubt that those negative effects are minimized if the Adult Entertainment District were to be located in the Industrial Park.
The hours that a strip club would be in operation would be when its neighboring businesses are closed. The strip club could be regulated such that its appearance would not make it obvious that the building is a strip club. Finally, if some negative event such as a shooting were to occur, it would not take place across the street from a residential area and on a busy street such as Rodman Street.
The Industrial Park is the responsible choice for Fall River.
The article continues, adult entertainment venues in Springfield have been the scene of violence before. Earlier this year a fight at Mardi Gras, not far from Club 418, resulted in the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man.
With the approval by the Fall River Licensing Board regarding Gary Lund's strip club Martinique on Rodman Street, it stirred my curiosity as to the composition of the Springfield neighborhood in which they have their strip clubs.
Here is the link to the neighborhood of Club 418 and the nearby Mardi Gras or you can use the Street View feature of Google to take a virtual drive through the neighborhood.
Club 418:
Mardi Gras:
There's no doubt that strip clubs have negative effects on the surrounding neighborhoods. However, there is no doubt that those negative effects are minimized if the Adult Entertainment District were to be located in the Industrial Park.
The hours that a strip club would be in operation would be when its neighboring businesses are closed. The strip club could be regulated such that its appearance would not make it obvious that the building is a strip club. Finally, if some negative event such as a shooting were to occur, it would not take place across the street from a residential area and on a busy street such as Rodman Street.
The Industrial Park is the responsible choice for Fall River.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Help! Help! I'm being repressed!
In addition to being a Monty Python reference,the title explores what it was probably like to be School Committee member Joe Martins earlier today.
According to the Herald News, members of the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education were in the city to meet with members from the School Department to begin work on the city's recovery plan after the scathing DESE report earlier this year.
The problem was that the meeting was invitation only, and School Committee member Joe Martins was not invited, and therefore was denied access to the meeting.
Fortunately, due to the presence of a Herald News reporter, we have this exchange between Joe Martins and Deputy Commissioner Karla Baehr.
In the video, you clearly understand Committeeman Joe Martins say that he does not want to participate in the meeting, but merely wants to observe the meeting. Mr. Martins reasoned that the ability to observe the meeting will be helpful to inform and educate him of the content and issues of the recovery plan that ultimately require School Committee approval.
Deputy Commissioner Karla Baehr countered and stated that if Martins was allowed to observe the meeting, then ALL School Department employees would want to be invited as well.
That comment is just so ridiculous. Obviously you can't have all School Department employees there to observe the development of the Recovery Plan, but why can't the five non-invited School Committee members observe?
There are at least a couple of members on the School Committee that real don't care too much or do much work, which makes it even more shocking when Joe Martins gets denied from attending the meeting with DESE regarding the Recovery Plan.
While I can see that allowing Martins to observe would be unfair to the other four non-invited School Committee members, I can also say that wither they did not know about this meeting or did not care enough about the topic to at least attempt to attend the meeting.
Although unsuccessful in his attempt, Kudos to Joe Martins, and special Kudos to Will Richmond of the Herald News who was able to capture the video of Martins' attempt.
According to the Herald News, members of the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education were in the city to meet with members from the School Department to begin work on the city's recovery plan after the scathing DESE report earlier this year.
The problem was that the meeting was invitation only, and School Committee member Joe Martins was not invited, and therefore was denied access to the meeting.
Fortunately, due to the presence of a Herald News reporter, we have this exchange between Joe Martins and Deputy Commissioner Karla Baehr.
In the video, you clearly understand Committeeman Joe Martins say that he does not want to participate in the meeting, but merely wants to observe the meeting. Mr. Martins reasoned that the ability to observe the meeting will be helpful to inform and educate him of the content and issues of the recovery plan that ultimately require School Committee approval.
Deputy Commissioner Karla Baehr countered and stated that if Martins was allowed to observe the meeting, then ALL School Department employees would want to be invited as well.
That comment is just so ridiculous. Obviously you can't have all School Department employees there to observe the development of the Recovery Plan, but why can't the five non-invited School Committee members observe?
There are at least a couple of members on the School Committee that real don't care too much or do much work, which makes it even more shocking when Joe Martins gets denied from attending the meeting with DESE regarding the Recovery Plan.
While I can see that allowing Martins to observe would be unfair to the other four non-invited School Committee members, I can also say that wither they did not know about this meeting or did not care enough about the topic to at least attempt to attend the meeting.
Although unsuccessful in his attempt, Kudos to Joe Martins, and special Kudos to Will Richmond of the Herald News who was able to capture the video of Martins' attempt.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Fall River Dropout Rate Spikes
A few days ago the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released a new report of the high school dropout rate for the 2007-2008 school year. Statewide, the dropout rate decreased from 3.8% in 2006-07 to 3.4% in 2007-08.
While the numbers slightly decreased statewide, the dropout rate in Fall River spiked to 12.5% in comparison to 9.8% from the previous year. Starting in 2004-05, Fall River has been experiencing a decrease in the dropout rate [2004-05, 11.9%; 2005-06, 11.4%; 2006-07, 9.8%]. Therefore, it is now troubling that the trend has been reversed. The 12.5% dropout rate is the highest percentage of dropouts for the city since 2000-01. Finally, the 12.5% dropout rate, places the Fall River school district with the second highest dropout rate in the state, slightly behind the 12.9% in Lawrence.
By comparing Fall River with the other Gateway Cities, you can see that the other cities have made greater strides with the dropout rate than Fall River. In a short-term comparison of 2006-07 to 2007-08, Fall River's dropout rate increased by 2.7%. Meanwhile, in the other Gateway Cities, only Holyoke had an increase in the dropout rate by 0.3%. That means that 9 of the 11 Gateway Cities had either no change in the dropout rate, or a decrease in the dropout rate.
Also, take a look at Fall River and New Bedford for the 8 year period of analysis. Beginning in 2000-01, Fall River had a dropout rate of 6.9%, while New Bedford had a dropout rate of 7%. From the same starting point, every year New Bedford has been able to achieve a better dropout rate than Fall River.
My questions are:
1. What changes were made in 2007-08 that negatively affected the dropout rate?
As I recall, 2007-08 was the first round of elementary school closings. Then in 2008-09, a dozen elementary schools were closed in conjunction with the opening of 3 new elementary schools, Fonseca, Letourneau, and Viveiros. Even as some have expressed concern that the larger schools and increased class sizes will have an adverse effect on the city's education, this issue is unrelated to the current dropout rate. So, what happened in grades 9-12 to explain this dropout spike?
2. Why hasn't Fall River been as successful as its fellow Gateway Cities in addressing the dropout rate?
I always hear that Fall River's problems stem from the city's demographics. Comparing Fall River with its fellow Gateway Cities neutralizes the demographics argument since all the other Gateway Cities have their own demographic issues.
Look at Brockton's dropout rate of 5.2% for 2007-08. Throughout the 8 year span, the highest dropout rate Brockton experienced was 7%. Looking at the numbers, Fall River would kill to have the success that Brockton has achieved. Yet, I don't see anything in the demographics that explains the differences between Fall River and Brockton.
For several years, the UMass Donahue Institute has studied MCAS Results in comparison to district demography. "It is important to understand that demography is not necessarily destiny and does not determine educational achievement in all cases. There are examples of successful urban schools where disadvantaged students do very well by any measure."
Then in 2006, the UMass Center for Education Policy issued Case Studies on New Bedford and Framingham as two districts that were outperforming their demographics. According to the Standard Times, the study of New Bedford's MCAS performance concluded New Bedford's students are doing better than might be expected of a district with so many poor and non-English-speaking students.
Are New Bedford's demographics so much different than Fall River's demographics?
My point is that always blaming demographics, demographics, demographics, will not solve Fall River's problems. Other cities in Massachusetts have demographics problems too. However, Fall River still lags behind its fellow Gateway Cities. A 2007 study by the MA DOE Office of Educational Accountability and the UMass Donahue Institute further researched the differences between high and low performing urban public schools.
Fall River needs to implement practices and behaviors of the higher performing urban public schools. At minimum, Fall River should at least keep pace with its fellow Gateway Cities.
While the numbers slightly decreased statewide, the dropout rate in Fall River spiked to 12.5% in comparison to 9.8% from the previous year. Starting in 2004-05, Fall River has been experiencing a decrease in the dropout rate [2004-05, 11.9%; 2005-06, 11.4%; 2006-07, 9.8%]. Therefore, it is now troubling that the trend has been reversed. The 12.5% dropout rate is the highest percentage of dropouts for the city since 2000-01. Finally, the 12.5% dropout rate, places the Fall River school district with the second highest dropout rate in the state, slightly behind the 12.9% in Lawrence.
By comparing Fall River with the other Gateway Cities, you can see that the other cities have made greater strides with the dropout rate than Fall River. In a short-term comparison of 2006-07 to 2007-08, Fall River's dropout rate increased by 2.7%. Meanwhile, in the other Gateway Cities, only Holyoke had an increase in the dropout rate by 0.3%. That means that 9 of the 11 Gateway Cities had either no change in the dropout rate, or a decrease in the dropout rate.
Also, take a look at Fall River and New Bedford for the 8 year period of analysis. Beginning in 2000-01, Fall River had a dropout rate of 6.9%, while New Bedford had a dropout rate of 7%. From the same starting point, every year New Bedford has been able to achieve a better dropout rate than Fall River.
My questions are:
1. What changes were made in 2007-08 that negatively affected the dropout rate?
As I recall, 2007-08 was the first round of elementary school closings. Then in 2008-09, a dozen elementary schools were closed in conjunction with the opening of 3 new elementary schools, Fonseca, Letourneau, and Viveiros. Even as some have expressed concern that the larger schools and increased class sizes will have an adverse effect on the city's education, this issue is unrelated to the current dropout rate. So, what happened in grades 9-12 to explain this dropout spike?
2. Why hasn't Fall River been as successful as its fellow Gateway Cities in addressing the dropout rate?
I always hear that Fall River's problems stem from the city's demographics. Comparing Fall River with its fellow Gateway Cities neutralizes the demographics argument since all the other Gateway Cities have their own demographic issues.
Look at Brockton's dropout rate of 5.2% for 2007-08. Throughout the 8 year span, the highest dropout rate Brockton experienced was 7%. Looking at the numbers, Fall River would kill to have the success that Brockton has achieved. Yet, I don't see anything in the demographics that explains the differences between Fall River and Brockton.
For several years, the UMass Donahue Institute has studied MCAS Results in comparison to district demography. "It is important to understand that demography is not necessarily destiny and does not determine educational achievement in all cases. There are examples of successful urban schools where disadvantaged students do very well by any measure."
Then in 2006, the UMass Center for Education Policy issued Case Studies on New Bedford and Framingham as two districts that were outperforming their demographics. According to the Standard Times, the study of New Bedford's MCAS performance concluded New Bedford's students are doing better than might be expected of a district with so many poor and non-English-speaking students.
Are New Bedford's demographics so much different than Fall River's demographics?
My point is that always blaming demographics, demographics, demographics, will not solve Fall River's problems. Other cities in Massachusetts have demographics problems too. However, Fall River still lags behind its fellow Gateway Cities. A 2007 study by the MA DOE Office of Educational Accountability and the UMass Donahue Institute further researched the differences between high and low performing urban public schools.
Fall River needs to implement practices and behaviors of the higher performing urban public schools. At minimum, Fall River should at least keep pace with its fellow Gateway Cities.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Welcome to E-Governance
Yesterday President Barack Obama hosted an online town hall where the public could not only submit questions for the President, but the public could also vote for each others' questions. Whether it is the use of YouTube questions during some of the Presidential debates, or now with internet-generated questions for an online town hall, there is no doubt that President Obama and his team are tech savvy and are using the internet to keep the public informed.
Locally, last week the group Common Cause awarded 117 MA municipalities with an e-Government award. In order to qualify for an e-Government Award, the town or city must post their governing body's agenda and minutes, budget information, general by-laws, and--if applicable--their town meeting warrant and results. According to Common Cause, Fall River's website lacked Agendas and Minutes.
If you watch the City Council meetings on television, sometimes for the sake of efficiency the Council asks the City Clerk to waive readings or sometimes the City Council groups items together and vote multiple items as a single package, rather than individual votes. The problem with this is the public doesn't know what resolution is being voted upon if the City Clerk's reading is waived or if items are voted upon as a group. In contrast, the School Committee usually posts its agenda online prior to its meetings and its a lot easier to follow along at home.
Earlier this week the Herald News published its "Our View: Online advances" which criticized the usefulness of the city's website. The Herald News wrote:
Last night, I also came across this website SeeClickFix. SeeClickFix provides tools that increase transparency and communication between residents, governments and organizations. The goal is to make it easier to improve your community.
You may recall that last year the Herald News launched Operation: Pothole where Herald News readers could submit photos of the worst potholes in Fall River. Basically, SeeClickFix is similar. If you see a pothole, you report the pothole, and the Department of Public Works (DPW) fixes the pothole. In this manner, residents can report non-emergency issues and follow to when the issues are resolved.
Taking Operation:Pothole to the next level, newspapers across the country, including the Boston Globe, have established SeeClickFix sites so that readers can mark potholes. Candidates have even begun to include SeeClickFix on their campaign websites. By allowing residents to report non-emergency issues, cities are in a better position to implement the "Broken Windows Theory" which focuses on smaller crimes (graffiti, vandalism) to deter more serious crimes.
Interestingly enough, users in Fall River have already begun to report potholes. The next step is for the Fall River DPW to get on board and join this online reporting tool. A quick search found the following participants:
Newton Public Works Dept.
City of Cambridge Public Works
Somerville Public Works Dept.
Worcester DPW
Using SeeClickFix, if the Fall River DPW were to join, it would receive an email whenever a new pothole was listed. While I understand the poor-timing of discovering this tool when DPW has 20 fewer employees, I still feel the DPW should join to prepare for when these employees return to work.
Locally, last week the group Common Cause awarded 117 MA municipalities with an e-Government award. In order to qualify for an e-Government Award, the town or city must post their governing body's agenda and minutes, budget information, general by-laws, and--if applicable--their town meeting warrant and results. According to Common Cause, Fall River's website lacked Agendas and Minutes.
If you watch the City Council meetings on television, sometimes for the sake of efficiency the Council asks the City Clerk to waive readings or sometimes the City Council groups items together and vote multiple items as a single package, rather than individual votes. The problem with this is the public doesn't know what resolution is being voted upon if the City Clerk's reading is waived or if items are voted upon as a group. In contrast, the School Committee usually posts its agenda online prior to its meetings and its a lot easier to follow along at home.
Earlier this week the Herald News published its "Our View: Online advances" which criticized the usefulness of the city's website. The Herald News wrote:
Fall River, like every town, should, at a minimum, have up-to-date meeting schedules for every board, committee and commission, just like what town clerks post and update in town hall. Every town Web site should have the latest minutes of every town board meeting online, as well as the tentative agendas of upcoming meetings.I agree 100%. The words "accountability" and "transparency" are often heard in Fall River, but rarely acted upon. The City of Fall River has nearly a year to update its website to meet the benchmarks of Common Cause. The City Council should vote on a resolution expressing the City's commitment to meet those benchmarks for 2010.
Fall River should shoot for such an award during the next Sunshine Week, in the process creating a modern Web site that meets residents’ needs and expectations.
Last night, I also came across this website SeeClickFix. SeeClickFix provides tools that increase transparency and communication between residents, governments and organizations. The goal is to make it easier to improve your community.
You may recall that last year the Herald News launched Operation: Pothole where Herald News readers could submit photos of the worst potholes in Fall River. Basically, SeeClickFix is similar. If you see a pothole, you report the pothole, and the Department of Public Works (DPW) fixes the pothole. In this manner, residents can report non-emergency issues and follow to when the issues are resolved.
Taking Operation:Pothole to the next level, newspapers across the country, including the Boston Globe, have established SeeClickFix sites so that readers can mark potholes. Candidates have even begun to include SeeClickFix on their campaign websites. By allowing residents to report non-emergency issues, cities are in a better position to implement the "Broken Windows Theory" which focuses on smaller crimes (graffiti, vandalism) to deter more serious crimes.
Interestingly enough, users in Fall River have already begun to report potholes. The next step is for the Fall River DPW to get on board and join this online reporting tool. A quick search found the following participants:
Newton Public Works Dept.
City of Cambridge Public Works
Somerville Public Works Dept.
Worcester DPW
Using SeeClickFix, if the Fall River DPW were to join, it would receive an email whenever a new pothole was listed. While I understand the poor-timing of discovering this tool when DPW has 20 fewer employees, I still feel the DPW should join to prepare for when these employees return to work.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Five Weeks Later ...
About five weeks ago the Herald News wrote an article regarding BG Automotive Group that was looking to expand into Massachusetts and was searching for a location for its manufacturing facility. Fall River and New Bedford were potential locations.
A representative from BG Automotive Group stated, "BG is not only committed to green technology, but also to putting people back to work where jobs are most needed." BG will require about 150 employees per shift per facility.
BG Automotive Group is currently evaluating proposals from several states to determine where the first mass-production facility will be located. The company is planning to develop six facilities in the next 24 months for a total production of about 100,000 vehicles by year-end 2010.
Five weeks ago Mayor Correia had not received information about BG Automotive Group and expressed a willingness to meet with the automobile manufacturer.
The Herald News article did not mention the Fall River Office of Economic Development who could assist BG Automotive in finding a location for its manufacturing facility in Fall River.
Has anything happened in five weeks?
According to the Boston Globe, [BG Automotive Group] is on target for a May or June launch, but hasn't figured out where he's going to build the car, which will sell from $16,000 to $18,000. The goal is to construct six $25 million plants, each with a capacity for 15,000 cars per month and a workforce of 400 to 500 people. The Globe reported last month that BG Automotive was looking to open its first plant in Massachusetts, but the company will likely go to whichever state opens its coffers first.
A representative from BG Automotive Group stated, "BG is not only committed to green technology, but also to putting people back to work where jobs are most needed." BG will require about 150 employees per shift per facility.
Five weeks ago Mayor Correia had not received information about BG Automotive Group and expressed a willingness to meet with the automobile manufacturer.
The Herald News article did not mention the Fall River Office of Economic Development who could assist BG Automotive in finding a location for its manufacturing facility in Fall River.
Has anything happened in five weeks?
According to the Boston Globe, [BG Automotive Group] is on target for a May or June launch, but hasn't figured out where he's going to build the car, which will sell from $16,000 to $18,000. The goal is to construct six $25 million plants, each with a capacity for 15,000 cars per month and a workforce of 400 to 500 people. The Globe reported last month that BG Automotive was looking to open its first plant in Massachusetts, but the company will likely go to whichever state opens its coffers first.
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