Hi, this message is for Jim Mulvenna of the DPW. I’m reading Tuesday’s paper how Nemo ate all the snow budget, $400,000 already. But, you know what? Last year, there wasn’t much snow. You should have had all that money to carry over, $400,000. But we all know in this town, they take that money and use it for something else, when you should be carrying it over, because you never know when you’re going to get two or three of these Nor’easterns in one winter. So, that is what’s wrong with this town. OK? Have a nice day and thank you, PulseLine. You are correct in that there was very little snow during the 2011-2012 winter. What you fail to remember is that the magnitude of the October 2011 storm depleted the funds from last year which left nothing to “carry over.”
Just when you thought that welfare had gone about as far as it could go, freebies for everyone… I was in a local supermarket today checking out, when the person in front of me pulled out their blue card. And on it went. This supermarket gives points for gas according to the amount of money you spend. When the person in front of me left, I asked the clerk: does that person, who is getting all those groceries for NOTHING, on the backs of the taxpayers, also get gas points? The answer was: YES! How much do these people think we owe them? And I just got through watching The Westfield News on TV, brought to you by Westfield State University and they do a fine job. Just wonder why is it that the senior center needs to run a travel club? Doesn’t seem like that’s really the responsibility of a senior center. “Whip City Travelers” is actually a separate entity that is “housed” at the Senior Center in the corner of the dining room on a very part-time basis. The group has its own Board and a budget that is entirely separate from the Council On Aging. There is no club membership status that is required and all trips are open to the general public, not just those over the age of 60. The group prides itself on offering trips that are both varied and affordable. We have learned from Harvard Medical School’s longitudinal “Study of Adult Development” that social connectedness is vital to healthy aging. Isolation and a lack of social ties is a powerful risk factor for poor health. In a six-year investigation, researchers found that people without strong connections to family, friends, or groups were four to six times more apt to die regardless of race, wealth, health, activity, or use of health services. Traveling with others is a wonderful way to see new sites and make new friends. Whip City Travelers hours at the Senior Center are Mondays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. And for a more nuanced look at poverty, click here and here.
You have to be kidding. Pay a $3.95 fee to pay your vehicle excise tax online, plus a fee to pay real estate tax and utility bills. What genius dreamed up this idea? I can pay my bills through the bank for no charge. Your state representative, Don Humason, Jr, agrees: “I don’t disagree with the caller at all. I’m on his side. The Governor’s wrong. State government should be doing everything we can to make it easier for our citizens to pay their state bills, renew their licenses, register their vehicles, etc. I guess Governor Patrick has forgotten the concept of customer service from his time long ago in the private sector. Before his administration goes any further to nickle and dime hard working Bay Staters, he should take a good look at his agencies like the Department of Public Health that did an awful job overseeing the drug labs and cost the Commonwealth millions, or the Department of Transitional Assistance that enables the broken and widely abused EBT (electronic benefit transfer) card system. There are real opportunities for reform that will save taxpayers millions. And that’s millions less the Governor will have to try to raise with new taxes or ridiculous fees.”
