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Need $31k? Try the dump
By George P. Hassett
Jack Leutcher has opposed Acting Chief of Police Robert R. Bradley before. But this time he can’t, all the president of the patrolmen’s union can do is laugh and shake his head.
Leutcher lobbied against the home rule petition that would take the chief’s job out of civil service and, essentially, make Bradley the city’s permanent top cop. Leutcher also disagreed with Bradley when the acting chief spoke on behalf of an ordinance to increase the fees private companies must pay to have police details.
But when it comes to the $31,535 in seized cash that was mistakenly thrown out last week, Leutcher said he doesn’t blame his frequent foe.
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Galluccio to drop out
By George P. Hassett
Anthony Galluccio will end his bid for Jarrett T. Barrios’ Essex, Suffolk and Middlesex County Senate seat today, said a source inside the Barrios campaign.
The source said Senate President Robert E. Travaglini will host a 3 p.m. press conference at City Hall today to announce Galluccio’s departure from the race.
News Talk for the week of May 17
We think this week’s big news of the Police Department throwing away $31,000 in seized funds was unfortunate, but actually handled well. Somerville was the laughing stock of the media, but you have to give Acting Chief Robert R. Bradley and the Mayor credit for giving everybody the facts up front and dealing with the fallout. They certainly weren’t to blame and they handled it as best as it could be handled. By the way, if anybody sees a suddenly well off Waste Management worker let us know.
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But here’s an interesting fact News Talk heard minutes before press time that could change this story — the landfill the $31,000 is allegedly buried in doesn’t take metal. What was the old desk made of that the money was in? That’s right metal. Doesn’t add up, maybe we’re wrong. Maybe not.
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A Future Worth Paying For
A Commentary by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone
With the budget season upon us, and the start of a new fiscal year less than two months away, Somerville faces a number of tough financial challenges. In a time of continued fiscal austerity, with state aid still lagging well below historic levels – and fuel, utility, maintenance and healthcare costs at all-time highs – we can all agree that we should avoid any unnecessary spending.
On the other hand, Somerville is truly a city on the move, with a growing reputation as a regional hotspot for economic opportunity and as a leader in municipal innovation. If we are willing to make the investments that maintain and enhance that reputation – investments in our infrastructure, our services and our people – we can put our city on solid fiscal ground for decades to come. But if we fail to make those investments, we stand to forfeit much of the progress we’ve already made – while ensuring that our current fiscal problems continue to dog us for the foreseeable future.
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Aldermen debate immigration issue
By George P. Hassett
The national debate concerning the immigration process reached City Hall Thursday when the Board of Aldermen debated the merits of a non-binding resolution designed to welcome immigrants to the city.
“This is nothing but sanctuary city in disguise,” said Ward 1 Alderman William Roche. “I can’t support illegal immigration. If we do this now we’ll be doing the exact same thing in 10 years because this gives no incentive to people to come here legally.”
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The View From Prospect Hill for the week of May 10
Look in your Somerville phone directory for the Somerville Journal and you won’t find anything. Look on your streets for a Somerville Journal office or storefront and you won’t find anything.
This week the city’s other paper was handed over to a new, faceless corporate owner. The move continues the once-proud paper’s recent slide into irrelevance.
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Off the Shelf by Doug Holder for the week of May 17
Local writers explore new and lost worlds
One Art. Juliana Bures. Cheryl Reed Devitt. A.S. Henderson. George Locke. Cam Terwilliger Edited by Julia G. Henderson. http://jgalhenderson.etsycom $12.
Julia G. Henderson, the editor of the poetry anthology “One Art,” writes in her introduction:
“This anthology was conceived based on my hope to highlight the work of five talented twenty-somethings. The voice of each writer is unique, and reflects a wide range of emotions and beliefs, and the images are modern and striking. With the anthology, I also hope to pay homage to the art of the small press publishing and self-publishing, as a forum in which the thinkers, philosophers, artists and writers of our time can let their voices be heard.”
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Assembly Square, the Back Story
Part 6: Two New Players
An editorial by William C. Shelton
In the fall of 1999, Assembly Square Limited Partners (ASLP) faced two serious problems. They had bought the mall property with $300,000 in cash and a one-year, $18.5 million loan that was due in October. But they could not legally obtain as-of-right permits to build big box stores.
Newly-elected, Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay had told the Globe, “We can’t allow National Development to come in here and tell us what we’ll have at Assembly Square.” National was the ASLP partner managing the permit process. Mayor Gay’s development director, Steve Post, said, “It’s clear that big box retail stores on the scale of potential development ranks near the bottom because it creates few jobs and doesn’t bring much tax revenue. Large retail stores will have a negative impact in East Somerville by generating lots of traffic and pollution.”
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Cops throw out over $30,000 in cash
By George P. Hassett
$31,535 in cash was mistakenly thrown out by Somerville Police Monday, said Acting Police Chief Robert Bradley today. The money had been seized by police in various criminal investigations. Evidence and other seized property was also inadvertently disposed, said Bradley.
“Everyone in the Department – myself most of all – understands the severity of this error,” said Bradley. “Everything we know now points to human error rather than any deliberate misdeed, but it’s still a very bad mistake. Because we’re talking in some instances about seized property rather than actual evidence, this may not end up affecting many cases, but that doesn’t excuse what happened.”
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