I do believe the person that screens the entries to the PulseLine must be one of those politically correct persons that, if something is entered that may put his personal views or ideas in a negative light, the delete key is soooo easy to push. That feeling of power is everywhere, from being a straw boss in the tobacco field, to a CEO of a large corporation, to someone that reads entries to a newspaper. We’re not sure what you’re talking about because all entries get printed unless they are a personal attack. If you have further concerns please call us to discuss.
Your front-page article about the new school is a complete whitewash. The mayor and the city violated laws and destroyed protected parkland in an effort to ram through a monster school on a property that is way too small. The mayor ignored the will of the people repeatedly. He’s the one that broke the law and is costing the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and delays. If the Chapter 97 legislative work was already part of his plan, why the hell didn’t he follow the process? The law says that the city has to come up with a viable replacement property, that city council has to approve it, that city council has to approve a home rule petition that gets sent to Boston, that both the house and senate have to approve it by a two-thirds majority, and that the governor and the National Park Service have to sign-off on it. All this has to happen before work begins. The mayor already demolished the trees, playground, and the baseball field. The land swap deal is still tentative at best. The only reason he’s doing what he’s doing now is because he was caught by a group of citizens who invested their own time and money to pursue these legal actions. They should be awarded reimbursement for their legal fees. The MSBA and the AG’s office should pursue government corruption charges for fraud related to the $23 million dollar grant. The City Council, Purchasing Agent, Auditor, or Law Department should freeze funding for this project until these all of these legal issues are resolved. Here’s a direct quote from Superior Court Judge Page that should have been included in your article: “I find Westfield’s insistence in ignoring its environmental responsibilities to its citizens as well as the laws of the United States and the commonwealth particularly ironic, where it simultaneously seeks to build an elementary school to educate our future leaders.” Our article reported the facts of the issue. We did not “whitewash” anything.
The downtown roads, new park and new square look great, Rocky’s has done a super job of improving their block, and the city is in the process of taking down those ugly buildings on Elm street, etc., etc. Unfortunately, the first thing you see when arriving on Route 20 downtown is the unpainted eyesore of a building on the corner of School Street and Elm Street. This building has been peeling paint for years, its really time for the owner to step up and paint it; it’s long past due. We are giving the owner one month, after which we shall go to City Hall, find the owners name and hopefully the PulseLine will print it. And we will keep on submitting it to the PulseLine every month until the owner accepts their responsibility. Come on folks, where is your sense of civic responsibility?
I would like to know why Karl Stinehart allows his employees to smoke by the entryways at the Southwick Town Hall? It is bad enough the employees always seem like they are on a smoke break but, come on. Just the other day I had to walk through a blue haze and they barely got out of my way. God forbid if they opened the door for an old man. If you want to smoke, smoke, but don’t do it right in front of the door!
I, too, extend my sympathies to the Avery family on the tragic loss of their beloved 12-year-old cat Thomas. Hopefully, one day soon the true facts of what caused this cat’s severe injuries will be known. That being said, it saddens and disgusts me to read the incredibly insensitive and negative comments I have been reading in PulseLine from individuals who, for whatever reason, feel compelled to voice their misguided, tasteless opinions, which only serves to inflict more pain on a family still very much grieving the death of a much-loved pet. Shame on them. I have to wonder if it is negative attention these idiots seek? Sadly, we have seen all too often lately these types of people coming forward, following a sad situation, and expressing unkind remarks. Kindness and compassion is severely lacking in these people. I truly hope we have heard the last from them. Thank you.
I read in the paper recently where the Mayor said there are 30 acres of land on Main Street in Westfield that could be made into playgrounds. How many millions is that going to take to do that and where in the heck is there 30 acres of land on Main Street? Thank you.
I see where they’re going to build that new school on Cross Street and here’s a thought to save the City of Westfield some money… Why don’t we also encompass the school department into that building so they don’t have to rent or lease another building? Make some offices there for the school department and save some money.
I’m wondering why there is not a police officer stopping and directing traffic up on Southampton Road when the schools get out. It’s absolutely incredible how fast these cars drive through the school zone when it’s posted 20 miles an hour when school is getting out. I just don’t understand why there isn’t a police officer there. There was all last year but I don’t know what’s happening this year. Instead of three or four police officers directing traffic at a construction zone, how about putting one up here on Southampton Road when these kids get out of school before someone gets killed because of how fast these people drive? Thank you. As far as we can tell, there was never an officer regularly assigned to Southampton Road School. On occasion, an officer may have helped out, in the absence of a crossing guard, but we know of no regular assignment there, last year or this year.
Since when do the police not get involved when it relates to a dog attack? I dialed 911 Sunday during a dog attack and was told to call the Dog Officer in the morning… really? In reading the daily police logs, it seems that when the police get a call for anything, they respond. We don’t know of any call being ignored Sunday.
