Rethinking Borderline. Should I continue this blog?

I feel bad about blogging. Lately it's been hard to come up with posts, and when I do, it seems that a lot of readers don't like what I have to say.

There're other problems, too. It takes a lot of time to blog. Borderline has written something like 200 or 300 posts since 2005, and some of them take many hours to write, research, or maintain, such as the ones listed on this page. I can't write this stuff during the day, it's always at night or on the weekend, or when I have a day off from work. I'm writing this post right now at 10:30 pm on a Saturday night. So blogging is taking away from my free time, which I could otherwise be spending with my family, or doing other more productive things around the house, or just relaxing.

And I don't make any money on this blog. Not one red cent. I know I could make some money using Google Adsense or the Boston Blogs advertising banner, but it just seems ... wrong. I really did start Borderline out of a labor of love, talking about all of the interesting things about Waltham and Newton, and to add commercials just takes away from the independent spirit that I want to have on Borderline. As regular Borderline readers know, I love tweaking the nose of the establishment and business community, which includes companies, connected people, and mainstream media titans. It would seem hypocritical to start taking money from this group, even if it was only indirectly through the automatic advertising banners that Google uses with Adsense.

So what should I do? Take a break? Sell it? Open it up to other writers? Give it up?

Waltham sends Northland packing, the Common is saved! (For now)

This news brings a smile to Borderline: The Northland Invesment Corporation was told by the City of Waltham that there's no way its ridiculous plan to build a hulking, snooty development at the northern end of Moody Street will be allowed to move forward in its current form. Northland was able to muster support from pro-development Councilor Gary Marchese, but everyone else on the council who took part in the vote rightly recognized that residents are fed up developers and the special benefits and zoning variances sent their way. From the News Tribune article:

"I have never in 18 years on the council, seen more opposition to a proposal," Councilor Robert G. Logan said. Indeed, before the meeting began, protesters lined the front of City Hall bearing signs that read "Save Our Common, Say NO to Northland."

You may also remember that Borderline wrote about Northland's development demands late last year, which actually drew criticism from a fan of the proposal, a reader named James. Good for James for putting forward an unpopular, contrarian view, but I have to ask, what made you think other residents of Waltham wanted this?

Thank you city councilors, for recognizing what a mistake this project would be, and not going along with the developers, as you have in past cases.

I would also like to give thanks to the News Tribune and the Boston Globe for attempting to cover both sides of this development-related issue. I've given the Globe a lot of crap lately, and have hammered both papers for sucking up to developers and big corporations (see " Boston Globe's news pages become free advertising for Verizon", Blackout, part II. Media misses the story at first, then gets it wrong", "Sloppy reporting on Waltham development", and "News-Tribune sucks up to the realtors ... again"). But this time reporters and editors at both papers showed some backbone, and made a point of covering the real grassroots anger over at out-of-control development in Waltham.

Now it's time to see if Northland comes back with something else. Larry G. and co., we're watching you, and we'll bite back again if you try to ram another monster development down our throats!

The Boston Globe Challenges Borderline; Proves It Really Doesn't Get Blogs

The Globe really doesn't like Borderline. I criticized the online version of the Boston Globe for calling their news-lite publishing experiment a "blog", and they huffily responded with this:

... Globe West Updates is clearly a "blog" according to the generally-accepted definition and we will continue to use the term ...

The Globe further challenged Borderline to look up this alleged definition, which I did. And lo and behold, almost all of the generally accepted definitions would exclude the Globe's effort. I responded with this:

Ralph: You mention the "generally-accepted definition" of a blog. Accepted by whom? Big Media?

I followed up your challenge to look it up. So I did. And the generally accepted definition I found supports what I have been saying all along. When I used Google to define "blogs" almost all the results stress personal thoughts and perspectives, comments, etc. as opposed to publishing news bits.

So Ralph, and your anonymous booster, you're WRONG. The Globe blog is not a blog. If you want to have a blog, it's not hard: Simply turn down the news, crank up the personality, get comments, and get a clue.

I'll add one thing here: I don't think the Globe was lying, and attempting to bluster its way out of a jam. They just don't get blogging.

What part of "blog" does the Globe not understand?

I've ranted about this before, but I am going to do it again: STOP CALLING THE GLOBE'S WESTWORD/WEST UPDATES A BLOG!

Reporters posting news articles and random news tidbits, without any real opinions or mechanism to comment, is not blogging. It's just typical MSM one-way reporting, albeit in an online-only medium.

And Ralph Ranalli, if you are reading this message, I am sorry to be so harsh, but the last time you left a comment on Borderline it was the summertime and you said comments would be enabled ASAP. If it's not going to happen, and the site will merely continue to report news rather than other things like freeform opinion, then please remove the word "blog" from this part of the Globe website. 'Cause it ain't a blog.

Boston Globe's news pages become free advertising for Verizon

How low can the local media go in bending over backwards for corporations? Pretty low, as evidenced by this morning's edition of the Boston Globe. The paper has printed an advertisement for Verizon in the Globe West section of the newspaper.

Now, advertisements are nothing new in the paper, but the problem with this ad is that it's disguised as a news story. Lauren K. Meade is listed as the author of "Verizon FiOS arrives" but it looks like it was written by someone working for Verizon's marketing department. Unfortunately, it's not possible for Borderline to determine whether this is actually a violation of the Globe's ethics policies, because these are apparently not posted on the website for the public to review.

In a way, the Globe's articletisement doesn't surprise me. Verizon has proved itself to be very adept at seeding the media with pro-Verizon coverage, and the Globe very pliant in printing it (See "Despite the Hynes/New Media Strategics fiasco, Verizon's master plan for Newton is working"). And while this case is extreme, Borderline would like to remind readers that the Globe has been manipulated by business interests before. Exampes include "Blackout, part II. Media misses the story at first, then gets it wrong" and "Sloppy reporting on Waltham development".

Newton developers demand special zoning giveaway from Waltham

In the News-Tribune this morning, a story about how a Newton-based developer is getting ready to put a 7-story monstrosity at the intersection of Charles and Moody Street. It's going to block out light, dominate the small businesses and residences nearby, and make for more traffic. But hey, it will give the top floor tenants river views! Now the developer is asking for special treatment from the city. The article says:

Northland has asked the City Council to create a new zoning district, called Business D, to allow for the project. The proposed zone change is set for a City Council public hearing Monday.

The change would allow bigger buildings than those outlined in the developer’s informal proposal. Northland said it will build six stories on Main Street, and seven stories on Charles, where the ground slopes down toward the river, but the new zone would allow 90-foot-high buildings seven stories tall, across the block.

An artist’s rendering of the project, presented to the council this week, shows a building that appears smaller than the actual structure would stand at 77-plus feet. The new building appears to be just slightly larger than a building across the street that, at three stories, would be half the new building’s height.

A developer playing games, by trying to downplay the size of the building? Is anyone surprised?

Northland's chairman and CEO is Lawrence R. Gottesdiener. City councillors, please send Larry G a resounding message: NO WAY!

You can read the rest of the article at Building plan irks residents

Update

The Globe West has more information about the proposed project:

The plan calls for 350 luxury apartment units above 35,000 square feet of first-floor retail space on a 4 1/2-acre site at the corner of Main and Moody streets, opposite the common. ...

An underground parking garage. Plans call for 570 spaces.

Fast-food restaurants.

There's a public hearing at City Council tomorrow night (Monday, 8pm) to debate this project. Don't let it go forward!

A tale of two stories, or why Borderline loves the Herald

Clumsy editing errors aside, the Herald really runs circles around the Globe when it comes to crime-related news. Check these two headlines and introductory paragraphs, detailing the arrest of killer/mob dude Carmen DiNunzio:

From the Boston Globe:

Alleged underboss of New England Mafia is arrested

By Shelley Murphy and Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Reputed Mafia underboss Carmen "The Big Cheese" DiNunzio was arrested on extortion and illegal gambling charges as he emerged from a North End social club yesterday, potentially ending the reign of an underworld leader credited with uniting the fractured Boston mob into a low-key, profit-focused machine.

From the Boston Herald:

Cops nab alleged Mafia boss: ‘Big Cheese’ busted after 5-year probe

By O’Ryan Johnson and Laurel J. Sweet

Carrying a wad of 100s and 50s as fat as a ball of mozzarella, Carmen Salvatore DiNunzio was busted by state police yesterday in the North End near the spot where the alleged Boston Mafia kingpin runs a cheese shop, authorities said.

The Globe reads like an obituary, the Herald like a thriller. Which story do you want to keep reading?

Borderline has said it before, and will say it again: This city needs the Herald. They are so superior to the Globe in a few key "beats," like crime, the neighborhoods, and official corruption. There are a few decent reporters at the Globe, but the Ivy Leaguers who run the Globe just don't how to consistently cover these areas that well.

Another reason to be worried about Whittemore

Update on the Whittemore situation. The silent schoolyard and lack of any official news on Whittemore progress aren't the only things that worry Borderline about the Whittemore reconstruction project. This news article in Globe West about shoddy construction and lawsuit-related delays on other local school projects in Newton, Weston, and Waltham really makes me wonder if the Waltham City Government is setting Whittemore reconstruction up for more pain, by announcing that they are low on money and want to cut back on extras.

The Whittemore kids are stuck in an inferior temporary building right now for two years. It's very old. There's no playground. The gym is tiny. It's next to one of Waltham's busiest streets. It would be very, very bad if the system failed them for yet another year for delays and construction-related problems.

Don't let it happen!

Plans for the Waltham Watch Factory: Worse than condos

Developers in Waltham. They just won't give up! From the Boston Globe:

Developers have applied for a special permit from the Waltham City Council that would allow them to create a 30-unit "apartment-hotel" at the site of the Waltham Watch factory complex on Crescent Street.

"It's kind of a new concept," said Andrew Albers, project manager for Colomba Brothers Development Corp. "It's for stays longer than in a hotel but shorter than a year's lease on an apartment."

Actually, Andrew, it's kind of an old concept, that Waltham has lots of experience with. Excecutive hotels, welfare hotels, long-term hotels, dormitories ... the type of facility aimed at people who have no intention of putting down roots here. Even condos would be better than this.

Borderline hopes our elected leaders don't suck up to the Waltham Watch Factory developers, like many of them did earlier this year to support development near Rte. 128.

Despite the Hynes/New Media Strategics fiasco, Verizon's master plan for Newton is working

Goal: Verizon wants to increase its business in Newton and other local cities where there are lots of rich people.

Problem: The law

Strategy 1: Get high-profile mainstream media outlets to parrot your PR and marketing lines, like this report from the Boston Globe does:

Verizon touts higher Internet speeds, more cable channels, a larger library of movies, and better quality -- all at prices that would be competitive with the town's only other cable provider, Comcast.

Strategy 2: Get high-profile municipal politicians on your side by using fake letter-writing campaigns, like this one, orchestrated by Verizon's Stephanie S. Lee and Santoro:

".... If you are interested in more competition, please send an email directly to Mayor Cohen to let him know you want cable choice. A sample letter is provided for your convenience. Please add personal information and comments to customize your letter, if you prefer. ...

Subject: Bring more cable choice to Newton

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

Verizon has invested millions of dollars in Newton by installing its advanced fiber optic network, which offers video, internet and phone services. Verizon not only offers us another alternative to cable, but will provide residents with a more robust channel line up, more HDTV offerings, and thousands of shows and movies on demand -- at lower prices than we are paying today.

The City of Newton has been a pioneer in fostering the spirit of cable competition. With the addition of Verizon's video service, we will be among the few municipalities in Massachusetts to provide consumers with three options for cable TV.

Today residents in nearly 20 Massachusetts communities are enjoying Verizon's FiOS TV. Newton residents also deserve the best technology available along with a superior choice for cable TV.

I am writing to ask that you move quickly to approve Verizon's application for a video license so that Newton residents can benefit from more competition and the capabilities of this advanced fiber network.

Strategy 3: Try to astroturf local blogs like Borderline.

Result: Success, probably, judging by page 3 of the Nov. 15 Newton Tab.

It's all about the Ws: The Herald confuses Waltham and Watertown

More sloppy reporting, this time in the Boston Herald. The news article is about a corporate whistleblower named Paul Carpilio, who used to work for a big mutual fund company named Putnam Investments. Carpilio apparently uncovered a scheme to overstaff a Putnam customer service center, which allegedly resulted in big bonuses for greedy Putnam executives.

Corporate bigwigs feathering their own nests through trickery and mismanagement? No surprise there. But the Herald made a slip as to the origins of Mr. Carpilio, which makes me wonder about the accuracy of the other "facts" listed in the article. Check this:

The Waltham native just traded his black double-breasted suits for chinos and a brown leather bomber jacket. This month he opened the deli in a Plymouth industrial park to keep the money flowing when he isn’t consulting for other companies - or shuttling his three kids to hockey or soccer practice.

Then, at the bottom of the article:

As for Carpilio, money, he says, is not what he’s after.

“Where I come from, it’s about respect,” the Watertown native says. “I give respect, and I expect to be respected back.”

Well, Mr. Carpilio, you just got disrespected big time. The Herald can't even get your hometown right!

Borderline's election analysis: TV news sucks

Sorry the lack of updates. Like a lot of people these days, Borderline has to take work-related overseas trips every now and then.

But I did make it back in time for the elections. I was surprised by the wine vote, but hey, Massachusetts has been a haven for bizarre alcohol-related rules since the 1600s. Why stop now?

I won't comment on the local or national races -- other local blogs are better on that front (Check out local reax from H2OTown, The Newton Tab Blog, and The Garden City Blog).

But I will make one observation regarding televised media coverage: What the heck happened to objectivity? Elections are serious business, and personal feelings of reporters are supposed to stay off camera. Right? But half of the local TV people couldn't stop smiling. Even on channel 44, MacNeil or Lehrer or whatever his name had this huge grin on his face at one point, for the first time since, like, 1978.

The local Fox 25 political coverage was odd. Their chief political reporter, Battenfeld, sounded like he was going through puberty -- his voice was really cracking. At least Bob Ward managed to look serious, even though he was at party central -- aka Deval Patrick HQ.

Eventually, once it became clear who was coming out on top, I decided to wait until the morning for real political analysis in the Globe and NYT, which goes way beyond the 100-word sound bytes that pass for talking-heads analysis on TV.

I then switched to South Park on 38. Good episode, too -- Cartman as a robot!

What's up with Whittemore?

Whittemore Elementary is supposed to under renovation right now. It's part of the big plan hashed out with the neighborhood, the mayor, city councilors, city workers, architects, parents, teachers, and most important of all, the students.

But since the last day of school in June, nothing has happened at the school. No signs have gone up, warning of impending construction. I don't see trucks unloading equipment, or carting away debris. The 70s-era gym is still standing, but I thought it was supposed to be torn down and replaced. The ventilation system is still on -- I can hear it when I stand outside the bridge between the school and the gym. Why isn't it turned off, and how much is that costing the city every month?

And why isn't anything going on?

I ask because the construction schedule directly impacts my neighborhood, and my family. The last thing I want is this to drag out for longer than possible. Not only would costs go up, but the kids would have to be at the temporary Whittemore -- South Middle School -- for longer than the planned two years.

Anyone have an idea what's going on with Whittemore? Is it a delay, or is this part of the plan, for budget reasons, or something else?

Related blog entries:

Updated school designs presented at stealth meeting

Whittemore planning meeting

Population decline: Local media gets it wrong again, but ...

When will they ever learn? Earlier in the summer, I took the News Trib to task for screwing up the population decline story, and then another reporter working for the same company does it all over again for the Newton Tab this week!

The missing factor, of course, is illegal immigration. Waltham has thousands, Newton probably hundreds, who are not counted by city or federal censii for reasons including language barriers, fear of deportation, and potential investigation of illegal living arrangements. The reasons why local journalists don't even mention this question likely are a combination of ignorance and political correctness. Why political correctness? Because when you start talking about illegal immigration, you have to start investigating who they are and how they are affecting the community. Then you have to deal with the complaints from rightists, who claim that the paper is painting too sympathetic a portrait of illegal immigrants and not doing enough to highlight crime and the burden on local services, and leftists who claim the media is demonizing illegal immigrants and following some national conservative agenda. The easy way out: Just pretend the issue doesn't exist, and hope that no one notices.

I should note that the Tab article did get one thing right: They zeroed in on the Mayor's Office, and how population declines in Newton will affect planning and financing the new high school. The city's response is laughable. Read Borderline's comments about the Tab article here on the Newton Tab blog.

Additionally, Borderline has commented before on the population decline, which I believe is a long-term trend, and its impact on rebuilding NNHS. I suggested moving back to a one-high school system, like Framingham did in the early 1990s. Here's the main reasoning that I put forth:

Having two high schools made sense in the 1960s when the baby boom unleashed a tidal wave of kids on the school system, and there was the need for a dedicated vocational program in one of the high schools. But it doesn't make sense anymore. Besides demographic trends, and the decline of the Tech-Voc program, the costs associated with maintaining two quality high school campuses and academic programs are just too much. Returning to a single high school would eliminate redundancy and reduce costs. Citizens and officials wouldn't be arguing every two years about overrides, cancellation of important academic programs, cuts in essential city services, or illegally dipping into the CPA fund to pay for questionable school improvements.

I am sure there are people who think Borderline is crazy. But consider the crazy situation Newton is in right now before you dismiss my ideas. An estimated $165 million for the new Newton North? A seemingly never-ending series of overrides and budget shell games? The constant spectre of public employees being laid off, and cuts to services and programs?

And what will happen when it's time to rebuild Newton South High School? No one's talking about it now, but they probably will be in ten years. Where's the money for that going to come from?

Newton had one high school before and the kids did fine. It's time to reconsider returning to that model for Newton's schools, and putting an end to the fear, uncertainty and doubt that will continue to plague the city if it rushes into building an expensive new Newton North.

Please feel free to read and comment on the full text of the original blog post.

Road Rage in Waltham

An item from a few weeks ago in the News Tribune, about Stephen Villandry of 180 Prospect Hill Road being charged with road rage and driving with a suspended license:

An officer working a construction detail, then watched as Villandry stopped his tan minivan in the travel lane, got out, walked over to the alleged victim's Chevy Aveo, and yelled obscenities at her, he said.

Road rage is quite common. This article says road rage is quite common, and it seems like there's an item like this in the paper every week, either as a standalone article, or in the police log. A survey cited in the article found more than one third of drivers had personally experienced road rage in the previous six months.

The system is broken: Globe exposes the snakes that prey on the debt collection system

The Globe is doing a lot more investigative work these days, uncovering official incompetence, sleazy businessmen, and questionable court processes. If you haven't seen the Globe Spotlight investigation into Massachusetts' broken debt collection system ("Debtor's Hell"), you should check it out now. It will leave you fuming. Here's a sample from today's report on constables, who get paid to serve court papers. They are not trained in the law, have no oversight, and charge huge fees for their services, and have an incentive to screw the little people. Many even have criminal backgrounds:

In Boston alone there are 186 of them, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino has given arrest powers to every one, including (Kenneth) Dorsey and 87 others with criminal arrest records for offenses including firearms violations, indecent assault and battery on a child, and impersonating a police officer. Seven have been appointed in spite of guilty verdicts, among them one convicted twice in the last four years of beating his wife.

The other part of this series that was really scary was the second episode on how the small claims court system has been corrupted by lawyers and court staff who consistently favor business interests, even when these business interests accuse the wrong person or don't have evidence that someone owes them money. Disgusting.

These types of articles are traditionally more of the Herald's turf, but I am glad to see that the Globe is getting involved -- whereas the Herald often seems to lean toward sensationalism, the Globe investigative reports usually spends more time researching the problems and presenting more than one side of the story.

Poor timing, wrong message for pro-Israel demonstration in Newton

(Warning: There is a disturbing image in this post of a victim of the Israel Defence Force "mistake")

Just spotted this in the News Tribune, about a pro-Israel vigil and rally at the Newton City Hall War Memorial:

The rally featured speeches from prominent leaders in the Boston Jewish community, but a crudely drawn cartoon on a poster articulated why many in the crowd had gathered.

On the poster, two gunmen, kneeling, aimed machine guns at each other; one was labeled Israel, the other Hezbollah. The Israeli soldier was kneeling in front of a baby carriage, protecting it, while the other individual used a similar baby carriage as coverage to hide behind and fire the weapon.

I don't dispute that terrorists mix in with civilians in the Middle East, but to have this rally supporting the Israeli miltary now -- just days after dozens of innocent women and children were killed by Israeli military incompetence as they huddled in a basement shelter, too afraid to evacuate their village -- is the wrong message to send. After this disgraceful incident, not to mention the indiscriminate targeting of any vehicle travelling in certain parts of Lebanon, including ambulances, and the deliberate bombing of a United Nations outpost which killed four UN peacekeepers, supporters of Israel's military should be asking hard questions of this mission and how it's being carried out, rather than offering unconditional support.

I also find it unusual that the News Tribune reporter did not mention the baby carriage cartoon in the context of what happened in Qana. Did he not ask anyone at the rally about what they thought? Or was he unaware of the killings?

Blackout, part III: The local paper wises up

On the heals of my diatribe against local media organizations which either ignored the widespread power outages, or took NStar's word on the extent of the problem, I am happy to report that at least one of them -- the News Tribune -- got its act together by midweek.

This article, Cedarwood neighborhood left in the dark, still repeated the NStar PR mantra about 'how well power supply infrastructure held up", but also countered that with the experience of ordinary people in Cedarwood, and got some numbers, too: 350 households affected (Cedarwood only, nothing about Borderline's own neighborhood, or others in Waltham). It's a suspiciously round number, but at least readers can see that the extent of the outage was hardly minor.

Blackout, part II. Media misses the story at first, then gets it wrong

Can you believe it? Last night Borderline was whining about the power outage that targeted our side of the street, but tonight it's the other side of the street. I feel for you guys!

Also, I gotta ask, where's the media on this story? All over Newton, Waltham, Brookline, and Boston, there were outages, says Universal Hub. But I didn't see any newspapers or TV stations covering this. Can't they take some of the reporters over-covering the Big Dig tunnel collapse, and reassign them to the neighborhood news beats?

Update:

Despite zilcho in the Globe, Herald, News Trib, and Fox 25 as of late Tuesday night, this morning the Globe finally got its act together on the blackouts. Well, almost. The headline on the Boston Globe website this morning: "New England sets record for electricity use but avoids blackouts". Ha ha. If you click through to the story, the actual headline reads "major blackouts". Still, the reporter merely talks to Nstar, and doesn't bother describing where the "scattered" outages were, how many people were affected, or get any quotes from those affected. It's clear that there's a bit of a disconnect between what ordinary people are experiencing in Newton, Waltham, Boston and Brookline, and what the Globe's official sources claim is happening. Telephone journalism at its worst, in Borderline's opinion.

Incidentally, this reporter is one of the same ones who neglected to interview ordinary residents of Waltham a few weeks ago when describing Waltham's development plans (see "Sloppy reporting on Waltham development"). I think I see a pattern here ...

Update 2:

This morning the News Tribune also has a story on the outages, and includes more details. However, the details are incomplete -- the outages affected Cedarwood and Russell St., says the paper, but neglects to mention High Street and surrounding side streets. It also parrots the NStar propaganda line, claiming there were "no major outages". Gee. In my book, four known outages in Waltham affecting hundreds or thousands of people, not to mention additional outages in Newton, Brookline and Boston, may not be "major," to Nstar, but definitely qualifies as "widespread" ... and a major inconvenience to those affected.

Update 3:
From Universal Hub: Thousands affected in Cambridge, and lots of weighing in with comments. Geez, looks like NStar really has the traditional media on its side for this story.