Having a Nice Blogosphere Vacation

Sometimes, I just have to drop it all and take a vacation from Barnstable's blogosphere. This place takes so much more out of a person than it should. Blogs should be about sharing ideas and opinions, not what we make it here in Barnstable.

For the past few weeks, I've been enjoying a very nice vacation from all of the blogs... Not having to read about the Joakim recall, Doc Mosby and the Barnstable Airport, more accusations against elected officials being blown way out of proportion, absolutely absurd fearmongering about Hyannis water, etc... It's been really nice...

Anyway, I'll try to be more frequent in my postings here again...

We now have a date set for the Joakim recall election. October 30 at the Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter School. Should be interesting...

What are your opinions about the recall election? The primaries that just took place? The general election that's coming up? Are you an Obama fan or a McCain person? What do you think?

Thoughts For Today

That was an awesome thunderstorm that just passed through...

Here is a collection of thoughts I have right now as the storm has kept me awake...

• The "recall": This "recall" situation is an example of the many things our current charter gets right. While citizens are given the highly powerful right to recall an elected official, our charter makes sure it can't be done without some real backing. In fact, because it takes 100 signatures to initiate the recall of a town-wide officer and 50 for a precinct officer (Town Councilor), the charter's authors actually made it HARDER to recall a Councilor than a School Committee member... The number of detailed steps that must be followed ensures that a small disputes do not make recalls commonplace. I think the current Charter Commission should take note of how well the charter is working in this fiasco.
• The Water Company: I've been looking at the Council documents (agendas & minutes) related to the purchase of the Hyannis Water Company. As I read over these items, I have learned that the Hyannis Civic Association unanimously approved the purchase, AND that the Town Council voted UNANIMOUSLY to purchase the company.
• Yet, the COGers seem to forget that fact. When they criticize Councilors for endorsing that deal, they only attack the Councilors they hate most. In other words, they criticize everyone except COG's resident Councilor/"White Knight"/Man of the "People" Greg Milne. They conveniently choose NOT to criticize him for voting for the purchase, while suggesting that other Councilors committed heinous crimes by voting for it. Gotta love the double-standard.
• Serving on a town board/committee: I know that not everyone has the time to serve as a volunteer on a town board/committee, but the recent Zoning Board of Appeals mass resignation highlights the importance these boards play. Simply put, these boards are much more influential than we realize. Having enough people willing to serve is a problem, one that you can easily fix.
• You can start by reading about the different boards/committees HERE.
• You can also just download the application form HERE.
• Driving Issues: LIGHTS: Maybe I am wrong, but it seems like a lot of the town's so called "smart" traffic lights just aren't working right. In the past, when there was no traffic in the other direction, I never had to wait more than a few seconds at "smart" lights... Now it seems like I am waiting forever... Am I the only one experiencing this?
• BAD DRIVING: Is it just me, or does it seem like there are more bad drivers out there this Summer? I have had so many near accidents because drivers either cut me off, had no idea how an intersection works (aka doesn't have a 4-way stop), missed Stop signs, ran CLEARLY red lights or simply had no clue how to drive. It's getting scary out there... Which segue ways nicely into my last thought...
• Hearing on Proposed New Traffic Signals on Rt. 28: On Wednesday August 13 @ 7:00 PM, Mass Highway will be conducting a public hearing on proposed intersection & signal upgrades at 3 locations on Rt. 28. They are looking for public input. The locations in question are: Lumbert's Mill Road, South County Road/Main Street (Marstons Mills), and Rt. 149.
• Improvements and a signal are definitely needed at Lumbert's Mill Road (mostly because of the incredibly bad driving exhibited in this town).
• The Rt. 149 intersection has had a poor design for a long time. The fact that the intersection is located in the middle of a hill does not help the traffic problems there. A light there might not be such a bad idea.
• The South County Road/Main Street (Marstons Mills) intersection is the least busy/dangerous of the three. I'm not so sure that a light is needed there, especially if a light is added @ Route 149.
• The biggest issue is the vast number of stops and lights in this stretch of Rt. 28. Lumbert's Mill Road to the new Stop & Shop could have 6 traffic signals. That's 6 signals in less that 3 miles. Traffic on Rt. 28 already crawls along for good portions of this stretch. Adding 3 new lights seems like a lot, when you consider that of the 3 that currently exist, 2 are for the Stop & Shop plaza and one is for the road leading to the Town Dump.

Vision for Hyannis?

Main Street Hyannis has seemingly finished the improvements that it began years ago with the repaving of the commercial boulevard. Now with lighting finally installed and operational, the work that was set out to be completed is done.

We have been left with the telephone poles still up on the street, even though we have been asking for them to be removed for decades. The water pipes need replacing. The 500 Block is still a mess, though there might be some hope with a renovation plan underway for that parcel. We have a gigantic Transportation Center with hundreds (or thousands) of NEVER used parking spaces, and the P&B garage still across the street harassing traffic. The traffic flow on Main Street still makes zero sense. I could keep going, but we all know the problems.

I have a few questions - What is the long-term plan for Downtown Hyannis revitalization? Who has the vision and is working on it?

What is the long-term plan for capital asset improvement, replacement & repair for the Hyannis Water District? Who has THAT vision and is working on it? Do we have the necessary infrastructure to encourage REAL growth?

I don't want to know tiny little details about small projects - I want "big picture" info. I've seen the "Comprehensive Plan" on the town website, but that is not a VISION. At best, it is an uninspired short term plan, with plenty of "goals" and "actions" that are just vague enough that they have no meaning whatsoever. We need a plan that tells us what we are going to do and WHY.

Right now, interest rates are plummeting and we have a AAA bond rating... If we ever wanted to take out bonds to pay for capital improvements, NOW is the time... Provided that we actually NEED what we're going to put that bond up for... And, from what I can see, we need plenty of things...

So, will someone please stand up and let us know what is going on?

No System Issues! Hyannis Boil Order Lifted!

The boil order has been lifted - Hyannis water is safe to drink!

Here's the Official Press Release

Or, see the Official Town Website for more info.


No matter how you slice this, there was no imminent threat to Hyannis water customers. There was no criminal negligence. There was simply an issue in a backup water storage tank. The Mass Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) simply overreacted via standard protocol to protect Hyannis from any possible contamination.

This issue was detected quickly because of the high number of tests done on every facet of Hyannis' water system. It was ended quickly because of the excellent work of many, and even more perfect tests.

The fact is that this contamination NEVER left this BACKUP tank! It NEVER entered the distribution system! There was never any E Coli in the water you and I drink!

It looks like the only reason there was a boil order was because of standard Mass DEP protocol. Hyannis water users' water was actually safe to drink during this situation. The order was simply a precautionary measure.

Looks like the fear-mongers lose again!