It’s eerie how much Brookline Town Government operates in parallel to the Bush/Cheney Administration. There’s the faith-based use of public funds at St. Aidan’s. There’s the deciders deciding it’s “Jesse’s turn” to fill a seat on the Board of Selectmen. And then there’s the rampant cronyism and sweetheart deals out of town [...]
Looking back on Friday’s meeting of Brookline’s Housing Advisory Board, I’m left stunned by a comment made to me by Board Chairman Roger Blood. While arguing that gifting $1.7 million in public funds to the Boston Archdiocese (for their housing project at St. Aidan’s) amounted to a violation of the barrier that exists between [...]
According to tomorrow evening’s Brookline Board of Selectmen’s meeting agenda, the Brookline Building Department has selected Colantonio Construction of Holliston, Mass. to serve as general contractor for the $18 million town hall renovation.
Looking through the company’s portfolio of projects, I can’t find any performed that come close to the scale of the town hall project.
Another [...]
After three hours of discussion yesterday, Brookline’s Housing Advisory Board will recommend that an additional $1.7 million in Affordable Housing Trust Funds be gifted* to the Boston Archdiocese for something resembling affordable housing at the former St. Aidan’s Church.
But wait a minute. In order to receive the money, doesn’t the Archdiocese have to apply for [...]
What happens when you raise a concern to a group of apparatchiks? It’s dismissed out of hand.
At this morning’s Housing Board meeting to gift nearly $2 million to the Boston Archdiocese, one resident voiced concern over the influx of students to local schools from the project. It was the resident’s view that these [...]
Where to begin on the bizarre morning meeting of the Brookline Housing Advisory Board as it considered gifting an additional $1.7 million in public funds to the Catholic Church? I suppose the theme from the meeting is that our so-called experts on affordable housing (current and former) are in full supplication to the affordable [...]
Brookline’s Housing Advisory Board will recommend gifting an additional $1.7 million in public funds for the Boston Archdiocese’s stinker of a housing project at the former St. Aidan’s Church.
I’ll have much more on this later, including a bizarre moment when Selectman Nancy Daly advises the Housing Advisory Board on the type of advice they ought [...]
I’m hearing that the Boston Globe has been denied access to public records - including the police call reports - stemming from the Brawl at Town Hall.
Hot damn. They have lawyers.
Now, what could be so sensitive in those reports that Town Counsel Jennifer Dopazo’s office would be denying requests to review them? After [...]
There’s an interesting development concerning ZBA member Lawrence Kaplan (the central figure in the Brawl at Town Hall).
In an e-mail posted on the Town Meeting Member Association’s Web site, a resident is alleging that Kaplan conducted himself in a fashion similar to that he directed at Ruthann Sneider and Arthur Conquest on May 24th.
You can [...]
Don’t forget tomorrow’s 8:30 AM Housing Advisory Board Meeting concerning a request for additional public funds for the Boston Catholic Archdiocese’s luxury condo/alleged affordable housing project at the former St. Aidan’s Church.
Maybe the early start will wake the Housing Board up to the folly of gifting the Archdiocese more funds for this project. Maybe being [...]
Mystery writers employ a device they call the “blind alley”, a device that takes the reader off the hunt in order to maintain the suspense of the narrative. And for the past few days I’ve led myself to a blind alley of sorts in trying to determine who said what to police concerning the [...]
Boy, you could have fooled me. In an interview with the Herald, Brookline School Committee Member Ruth Kaplan (newly appointed to the State Board of Education) says:
“I am not anti-MCAS. I am certainly not against testing, or standardized tests in particular. But I do believe very strongly that we need to augment MCAS with [...]
I’m hearing conflicting accounts as to who made the 911 call on May 24th that reported the Brawl at Town Hall. And of course, Town Lawyer George Driscoll won’t release the tapes so I can determine who dropped the dime.
If you know the answer (because you were there and saw it happen) e-mail me [...]
There’s an e-mail circulating on behalf of Housing Board Chairman Roger Blood apologizing for the Friday at 8:30 start time due to problems “getting a quorum” (for its meeting to consider gifting the Boston Archdiocese more public funds for the St. Aidan’s project).
Gee, maybe the Selectmen appointing a lawyer to the Board whose firm represents [...]
I’ve heard from several readers who are angered over the timing of the Housing Advisory Board’s meeting time (8:30 AM on Friday) to consider more funds for the stinker of a housing project at the former St. Aidan’s Church.
They must be new to town. These early morning meetings are held when town government wants [...]
Suppose two members of the Brookline Board of Selectmen actively contribute to the Boston Roman Catholic Archdiocese, its parishes and its charitable appeals? And suppose those two members received campaign donations from officers and agents of the Archdiocese when waging their political campaigns?
Wouldn’t that constitute a conflict of interest when voting to gift additional funds [...]
Apparently the Brookline Police attempted to charge Town Meeting Member Arthur Conquest with some unknown offense stemming from the May 24th Brawl at Town Hall, but a prosecutor declined to pursue the matter.
But what if it had gone the other way? What if Conquest had been charged with a crime? From what I’ve been [...]
Expanding on the post below, here’s the shell game that the Boston Archdiocese is playing (in complicity with the Town of Brookline) to make it seem like public funds are not going to a religious organization.
Should the Town give more money to the project, they will do so to the legal entity known as St. [...]
Well, here it is. According to the agenda for a June 15th Housing Advisory Board Meeting, the Boston Archdiocese is asking for an “increased commitment in Town funding” for the luxury condo/alleged affordable housing project at St. Aidans Church.
And, of course, the meeting is being held at 8:30 AM on a Friday morning.
Not that [...]
I’ve always said that Brookline Town government runs with all the efficiency and openness of a Soviet Planning Committee. And nowhere is this more the case than with Town Counsel Jennifer Dopazo.
Now, when you make a request for public records from Town Hall it’s likely to end up in the hands of Dopazo or [...]
