Assorted Photos 8/30/07

Below are just a few (5) photos that I took ealrier this year and never found a place (or post) for them. (Click on each photo for a larger version.)

The newly-renovated apartments on Central Street, Spfld.

This historic depot in East Longmeadow has an uncertain future.

This burned-out house on Greene Street was a chance encounter, as I was passing by doing a video of Eastern Avenue.

I snapped the Hooters entrance as a passing thought, too. I had always meant to go there, but never got around to it.

Main Street, looking towards the South End.

And then there is the monument in the Springfield Cemetery, which from the opposite side - and looking at it from the interior of the cemetery - looks merely like an old, overgrown tree trunk.

* *

Action on Adams Street - 8/01/2007

2:10am, Aug 1st, 2007

Trouble in the South End early Wednesday morning, as Springfield Police cruisers filled the streets. They appeared to be in search of someone (or more). By 3:00am, cruisers still cordoned off the corner of Richelieu & Adams Street.

MORNING UPDATE: According to the morning edition of Masslive, a gunfight took place at the corner of Adams Street & Dwight Street Extension. There were no injuries, and two people were arrested. Both suspects - a man and a woman - were charged with multiple firearms violations. Apparently the male suspect, Mario Ortero, who had already fired his weapon, pointed his gun at police officers a couple of times during the incident. Talk about restraint on their part. Ortero is lucky he's alive. More on the story HERE. Below is a short video.





* *

Walking Maple Street - Springfield, MA

From The Springfield Intruder, take a photo & video tour of historic Maple Street, in Springfield, MA. This area of the City has a large number of critics, and it is true that, unfortunately, Maple Street lies smack in between two of the poorest and most troubled neighborhoods in Springfield. But the street is still attractive, and I've always enjoyed my afternoon strolls there.

SEE THE STORY HERE


* *

Spfld Finance Control Board Speak-Out

Over at the Springfield Intruder, I posted a summary of the 30-minute the public speak-out heard prior to the regular meeting of the Springfield Finance Control Board held on June 28, 2007, at City Hall, followed by some personal observations.

Check out the story HERE.

* *

Simpsons All Over The World

For those who believe the effort to bring the Simpsons cartoon phenomenon home to our very own Springfield is a waste of time - or perhaps even detrimental to our city's reputation, I can only say that you need to look at this contest from the eyes of an outsider: True Simpsons fans are found all over the world, as evidenced by the hits my little post on the matter has received from places such as France and the United Kingdom. The evening cartoon, immature as it is to so many cynics, has an enormous following and fan loyalties that span the globe. The winning Springfield of the "Simpsons Movie" contest will be recognized internationally as the home of Bart and Homer Simpson. And that recognition will mean, at the very least, thousands of Google searches from folks eager to find out more about the actual city of the Simpsons.

How can this be a bad thing? One argument says that the cartoon Springfield is dysfunctional and corrupt and that people would assume our city to be the same. Well, first of all, for a time it actually was the same. But secondly, and more importantly, I cannot accept that premise as being a serious concern. Nobody is going to "laugh" at our Springfield just because we [may] have won the honor of being the home of The Simpsons. Any laughter that our city gets is due to our actual problems, not anything transferred from a cartoon city. And Springfield has been getting laughed at for all the wrong reasons for several years now, so there's no reason for us to be annoyed by any positive laughter brought in by this movie contest.

People come to Springfield for so many bad reasons - like "affordable" housing and cheap and easily available drugs (it certainly isn't because of jobs). Becoming the home of The Simpsons would be yet another good reason for folks to come to our city.

And it's so easy to make it happen. Win a contest, get the honor. Just like that.

The Simpsons phenomenon may not last for too long, but as long as it does last, it should be Springfield, Massachusetts, that reaps some of the benefits of its fame.

~ ~

Shriners in the City

I was on one of my walks downtown yesterday (Thursday) when I came upon a detour sign blocking off Main Street as I crossed Falcons Way...


Initially, I have to admit, I was a bit annoyed. "What kind of public relations show do they have going on now?" I thought. Politicians love their face time with the media. Luckily, I had my camera on me, so I decided to investigate while taking a few photos. As I got closer, I saw a tent up ahead of me. But I still wasn't sure what was going on...


As I drew up beside the event, however, its purpose became clear: It was the Shriners Circus guys! My cynicism quickly evaporated and I took a couple of more photographs as I walked on by...


The Shriners is a great organization that has done a lot of good things for a lot of people - especially kids. They'll be performing this weekend, in fact, at The Eastern States Coliseum.


Sadly (for me), I would have no problem getting into that little car, above, and driving away.

*

The SPSA vs. FCB - March 30, 2007

The March 30, 2007, Finance Control Board (FCB) meeting held at City Hall in Springfield, MA, was preceded this time around by the introduction of a thirty minute “speak out” by citizens wishing to address their concerns and causes with the Board. On this occasion, five persons chose to take the speaker’s podium, including Springfield Police Lieutenant Edward H. Geier Sr., who serves as President of the Springfield Police Supervisors Association (SPSA), and the always illustrious and entertaining Timothy Collins, President of the Springfield Education Association.

Lt. Geier spoke to the Board – and to the attending press – of the need to resolve the City’s lone remaining unsettled contract dispute – that between the City and the SPSA. The sixty-eight members of the SPSA are the "only remaining city employees, amongst thousands, that continue [to work] under the provisions of a city-imposed wage freeze," said Gieir. A contract offer was put forward by the FCB - which the FCB has said is what the city can afford, but the SPSA stated that it fails to address the unfinished obligations of the previous (frozen) contract. Under that contract, the Association agreed to back-load its raises in order to assist the city in its financial crisis. Those back-loaded raises, however, never came to be following the implementation of the wage freeze. The SPSA is seeking a settlement of that (previous) contract before entering into a new contract with the City.

In regards to the frozen contract, Lt. Geier said, "It is truly not believable and clearly not an accepted practice for parties to just disregard the terms and provisions contained within [contracts]." He continued, "A contract is a dual ownership document. In this case the men and women of this Association have lived up to, honored, and continue to complete the terms of the agreement while the City of Springfield and the Springfield Finance Control Board has failed to act in kind. It is not fair that we should have to negotiate a contract twice and it defies basic logic and common sense that one would actively negotiate a new agreement with someone when they have not fulfilled their obligations under the terms of the first agreement."


SPSA members picket outside City Hall - 3/30/07

The debate regarding the negotiation of city contracts in Springfield is unique to this particular city, in that Springfield, unusually (and illegally, it turns out), had a wage freeze in effect that negated agreed-upon raises. In other words, the obligations in those previous contracts were not honored by the city. And while this matter was eventually addressed in separate contract negotiations with other city employees, the fact that the SPSA had agreed to delayed pay raises (that never materialized, due to the freeze) in their last contract - and that members also took unpaid furloughs - makes their dispute even more unique, still.

Regardless of where one may stand on this issue, it is pretty clear that this contract negotiation should not be considered the same as all the others. No contract discussion should be. The City, and the FCB, should perhaps also heed the advise of Timothy Collins, who took a brief moment to speak in support of the SPSA: If the FCB fails to properly address its obligations under the (frozen) SPSA contract now, then how can members of other unions trust that the City will honor its obligations with regard to their labor agreements in the future?

~ ~




Missing Persons in New England