The recent actions by our beloved Bangor City Council had me thinking of the old X Files TV show. Fox Mulder had a poster on his office wall declaring "The Truth Is Out There". Well folks, its out there all right, but no one on the Council is saying anything about Ed Barrett's dismissal. Glad to see Hal Wheeler step up to the plate for once and attempt to set the record straight. At least we now know who the 5 culprits are in this sham. Thanks Hal. Surprised to see Dave Neally going along with the others though, not his usual crew. Politics makes for strange bedfellows so the saying goes, but this one got me by surprise. According to my sources, looks like the City taxpayers will be getting a new arena shoved down their collective throats fairly soon. Ed didn't like the property tax rate going up so high without a referendum vote, so he's out the door. C'mon people, get in line on this or get out of town. Me? I'm looking at Glenburn.
I'll take a minute and applaud Jim Elmore for taking out the re-call papers for the 5 Councilors involved in this mess. "Someone had to do it" he said, and he's right. Please tell me where the petition is located and I'll be the first in line. While your at it, can we re-call Chief "Numbnuts" Gastia as well? 2 birds, 1 stone, you get the picture.
That's all I have, keep your ears open folks........
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Results Are In
Election 2009 has come and gone. My predictions for the State Ref questions were almost 100%. I don't know why so many folks oppose the idea of clerks having a few more days to validate petition signatures, but I guess they do. All in all, a pretty good night for the VOB.
On the City side, I was slightly off with my prediction of Paul Lodgek over Pat Blanchette as Paul was smoked hard and came in 5th. Pat's got a loyal following of cronies, so its no real surprise. Cary Weston got the nod over Peter D'errico, and ol Geoffrey gets his third term as expected. I hope Cary is up for whats looking like a rough road ahead for the Council as they move the City "in a new direction". Nobody seems to know where that is, or why we're going there, but its a new direction none the less.
Things got a little testy at last night's Council meeting as a few citizens showed up to express concern over the new parking ticket quotas. Chief "I'm a freaking weasel" Gastia has the nerve to say that he's only enforcing the ordinances as written. Dave Neally took the little shit to task and asked why everyone going 1 mile per hour over the speed limit wasn't ticketed. His point was that the Police use their own discretion in giving out tickets everyday, and should use more with parking tickets as well. Rest assured people, these tickets are not written to protect the safety of the citizens of Bangor, but to fill the Police Dept. coffers with your hard earned cash. One woman was ticketed in front of her church on Sunday, even though she had a handicapped placard. WTF is wrong with these cops? You could tell by the tone of the meeting, and several comments and statements made by the Council, that folks have been calling and bitching about the operations of the Police Dept. Keep up the heat folks...keep it up!
Lastly, a good percent of the campaign signs were removed last night. Good job to all involved.
On the City side, I was slightly off with my prediction of Paul Lodgek over Pat Blanchette as Paul was smoked hard and came in 5th. Pat's got a loyal following of cronies, so its no real surprise. Cary Weston got the nod over Peter D'errico, and ol Geoffrey gets his third term as expected. I hope Cary is up for whats looking like a rough road ahead for the Council as they move the City "in a new direction". Nobody seems to know where that is, or why we're going there, but its a new direction none the less.
Things got a little testy at last night's Council meeting as a few citizens showed up to express concern over the new parking ticket quotas. Chief "I'm a freaking weasel" Gastia has the nerve to say that he's only enforcing the ordinances as written. Dave Neally took the little shit to task and asked why everyone going 1 mile per hour over the speed limit wasn't ticketed. His point was that the Police use their own discretion in giving out tickets everyday, and should use more with parking tickets as well. Rest assured people, these tickets are not written to protect the safety of the citizens of Bangor, but to fill the Police Dept. coffers with your hard earned cash. One woman was ticketed in front of her church on Sunday, even though she had a handicapped placard. WTF is wrong with these cops? You could tell by the tone of the meeting, and several comments and statements made by the Council, that folks have been calling and bitching about the operations of the Police Dept. Keep up the heat folks...keep it up!
Lastly, a good percent of the campaign signs were removed last night. Good job to all involved.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Election 2009 Part II
Its D-Day for Maine and the City. There's a lot at stake so I'm really hoping you get out to vote today. I was lucky enough to take advantage of the early voting in Bangor and avoided today's rat race. The single poling station will turn out to be a nightmare with long lines, but its a nice day, so suck it up people. My predictions are as follows:
City Council
1. Gratwick
2. Lodgek
3. Weston
State Ref's
1. Yes
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. Yes
Pretty simple...Read 'em and weep folks
The removal of Ed Barret this past week is a farce. What was said behind close doors that it came to this? Maybe someone will crack after the election and spill the beans, but I doubt we'll ever know. Its a shame, to put it mildly. Sorry Ed, you deserve better treatment. I'm very disappointed in the Council for keeping this behind closed doors. Only Geoffrey has the sense to speak out on this lack of transparency. Somethings afoot my friends, and we're not gonna like it.
I'll close with this simple question for our beloved Police Chief, Ron "Chicken Little" Gastia. Why is it that everyone can rake huge piles of leaves out into the street, but my right tire touching the grass is deemed "un-safe" and gets me ticketed? Sounds like an arbitrary application of City laws to me.
Till next time..be safe and park properly for Pete's sake
City Council
1. Gratwick
2. Lodgek
3. Weston
State Ref's
1. Yes
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. Yes
Pretty simple...Read 'em and weep folks
The removal of Ed Barret this past week is a farce. What was said behind close doors that it came to this? Maybe someone will crack after the election and spill the beans, but I doubt we'll ever know. Its a shame, to put it mildly. Sorry Ed, you deserve better treatment. I'm very disappointed in the Council for keeping this behind closed doors. Only Geoffrey has the sense to speak out on this lack of transparency. Somethings afoot my friends, and we're not gonna like it.
I'll close with this simple question for our beloved Police Chief, Ron "Chicken Little" Gastia. Why is it that everyone can rake huge piles of leaves out into the street, but my right tire touching the grass is deemed "un-safe" and gets me ticketed? Sounds like an arbitrary application of City laws to me.
Till next time..be safe and park properly for Pete's sake
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