A more cynical, and more likely, explanation for the Cambridge Machine’s latest “Initiative” at Alewife

1. Introduction.
2. A con game to distract from destruction on the western end of Massachusetts Avenue?
3. Relevant past experiences of your editor.
4. Summary.



1. Introduction.

A few days ago, I posted a proposed letter to the editor of the Cambridge Chronicle at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/interesting-first-step-at-alewife-needs.html.

This responded to the “Friends” of the Alewife Reservation’s latest supposed attempts to defend Alewife reservation.

On thinking things over, it is highly likely that the situation is even more cynical than my interpretation in that post.

Please advised, however, that, when dealing with the Cambridge Pols, it is impossible to distinguish between the knaves and the victims. It is entirely possible that everybody visible in a particular initiative is a victim of somebody pulling their strings who is not at all visible.

2. A con game to distract from destruction on the western end of Massachusetts Avenue?

When dealing with the Cambridge pols, I do not believe in coincidences.

The machine sounds lovely but it very consistently implements the goals of the Cambridge City Manager which is development, development, development, insofar as it is politically possible.

In the last week or so, the Cambridge City Manager has submitted a zoning proposal to destroy housing and ground floor open space at the western / Arlington end of Massachusetts Avenue.

They love retail. They love to replace ground floor housing with retail. They love to replace front yards with retail.

To the extent they can get away with it politically.

The front organizations predictably fall in line.

The front organizations predictably play all sorts of lovely games to confuse decent human beings.

Is the “Alewife” initiative a con on a con?

A con on one level because they are chasing the wrong guy and will continue chasing him as long as they can fool people into not looking at the really destructive villains, the City of Cambridge, its City Council, and its fellow travelers at the state level.

A con on the other level because they are distracting people from the proposed destruction of zoning protections at the western / Arlington end of Massachusetts Avenue, next to Alewife Brook.

3. Relevant past experiences of your editor.

I, as a tool for protection of the environment, have written more successful zoning changes in the City of Cambridge than any other person not employed by the City of Cambridge.

Among other things, I wrote zoning changes which resulted in the change of zoning of about 85% of Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard and Central Squares to emphasize first floor open space and housing at a large but responsible scale.

Among other things, I also wrote the zoning which resulted in a large parking lot being returned to the environment at Alewife. That parking lot was located between the end of the Route 2 Superhighway and Alewife Station. It is now a much smaller, vestigial parking lot accessory to the Alewife reservation. It is most visible south of the ramp connecting Route 2 eastbound to Alewife Station. If you look carefully, you realize that the trees have a distinctive pattern. That pattern is because they were there much longer than the green area. The trees used to be in the parking lot.

My biggest problem has not been the developers.

My biggest problem has been fake “protective groups” with their barely identified, if identified at all, connections to the City of Cambridge, its city manager and city councilors.

The fake groups continue to be the biggest problem. They are currently most visible at Alewife and on the Charles River. They are most definitely not restricted to Alewife and the Charles River.

It is possible to beat them. I did beat them on Mass. Ave. but they did very severe harm to the first major zoning petition and lesser but still major harm to the second major zoning petition.

The fake groups have done severe harm to the Charles River and are fighting for much worse while fighting to keep their ill gotten destruction and heartless animal abuse.

Such fights should not be necessary. The game is that most people associated with such groups are well meaning. They are carefully controlled by tiny minorities, possibly not even visible in the group. The games being played at Alewife and on the Charles River are standard tactics.

4. Summary.

Cambridge, MA, USA has a really rotten city government and really bad controlled “activists.”

The construction zone in the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese appears to be at the beginning of being healed.

I stopped by the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese yesterday and took some photos.

The situation is drastically changed from the photos of last month. The photos I printed showed the geese and the mess. The photos which I have not printed are photos without the geese showing the mess. Those latter photos are now no longer relevant. I anticipate I will hold those photos and later print my photos from April 13.

The use of the Destroyed Nesting Area for work on the BU Bridge project is apparently ended.

The entire work area has been tilled and apparently re-formed to more closely resemble the prior contour of the land.

The only disruption to the tilling were tire marks for a pick up truck parked near a door under the BU Bridge which apparently is a work room. That indicates I must have just missed the work.

The Charles River White Geese, as in my past visits, were visiting the former work area. This time, they were only visiting at the extremes, the southern / river end of the 100 foot construction zone next to the BU Bridge, and at the eastern / railroad end of the leg of construction zone in the northern / ramp portion of the Destroyed Nesting Area. They did not venture at all into the tilled area except in the first foot or so inside the plastic fence.

There were still some remnants of construction activities under Memorial Drive, not much.

Other work has been done between the western side of the BU Bridge and the underground portion of the pollution control plant.

An interesting first step at Alewife needs to be made meaningful

The April 13, 2012 issue of the Cambridge Chronicle had an interesting letter dominating its letters page.

Unfortunately, it does not seem to be published on line.

The authors of the letter were Ellen Mass, the leader of the falsely named “Friends” of the Alewife Reservation and two others. She was key in the destruction of acres of irreplaceable forest at Alewife for flood protection against 10 year storms in an area which has seen two fifty year storms in the past twenty years. She has bragged in the Cambridge Chronicle about the destruction.

I have done many posts on this situation. The most recent was in part of yesterday’s post, and this letter to the editor exactly fits my comments.

What they are doing now exactly fits the standard operating procedure of the Cambridge Pols, yell at everything, except for yelling that can accomplish something meaningful.

That said, my proposed response is pretty self-explanatory.

Editor
Cambridge Chronicle

Congratulations to the “Friends “ of the Alewife Reservation.

They have suddenly discovered that the massive parking lot south of CambridgePark Drive is where the flood protection belongs to defend against major flooding in the Alewife area.

In the meantime, they have destroyed acres of irreplaceable woodland for “flood protection” their destruction will not provide.

They achieved this inexcusable destruction by telling people to look at everything except for Cambridge and the DCR’s irresponsible project. They have bragged in the pages of the Chronicle of this destruction.

Now that they have noticed the massive parking lot where the flood storage should go, they are embarking on yet another con game.

They are yelling at the developers on CambridgePark Drive. And they will keep on yelling at the developers as long as their con games protect the guilty, the City of Cambridge, its city manager and its city councilors.

If Cambridge had a responsible city government, Cambridge would take by eminent domain the massive parking lot stretching from 160 CambridgePark Drive to the train tracks to Alewife Brook Parkway. Cambridge would build underground the needed flood protection and combine that flood protection with the proposed condo building.

Dodge Chemical is now in play. Take that property underground and build under it as well.

The combination of underground storage will provide the needed protection against 100 year floods which the destruction of the Alewife reservation next to these properties cannot do even though flood protection was promised. The construction technique needed is exactly the technique being used for less flood storage in the 160 CambridgePark Drive condo project.

We will, however, continue to hear these people yelling at the wrong parties until they have kept people busy so long that Cambridge’s irresponsible city government can no longer do the obvious.

I think it would be nice if these “activists” bothered themselves with reality and get the needed flood storage by eminent domain.

Once that is done, the totally unnecessary destruction the “activists” have inflicted on the Alewife reservation should be abandoned as an example of the destruction done to our world by an irresponsible government and its friendly “activists.” Let nature heal itself. What these people did in a month could be repaired by nature in a century.

But the “activists” will keep on yelling at the wrong guy until it is “too late.” And then work for the reelection of the guilty.

Charles River / Alewife: Private Destruction apparently being reduced? Opposite apparent for public destruction

1. General.
2. Charles River - Private Initiative.
3. Alewife and Charles River - Cambridge City Council.
4. Alewife - Public silence assists destruction.
5. Charles River - Public.
A. The area of the steam plant: Mass. General Hospital area’s Ebersol Fields.
B. Magazine Beach, the usual con game from a fake protective group with a belligerently bad record.
6. Summary.


1. General.

There is a notice in the state administrative record concerning environmental matters which seems encouraging with regard to private activities on the Charles River.

The situation with regard to public environmental destruction on the Charles and at Alewife clearly shows the corrupt situation in Cambridge in a typical pattern.

At Alewife, there is a very meaningful deadline approaching. The only apparent action is the usual for Cambridge’s “protective groups.” The group is spinning its wheels on process in the wrong direction and has no apparent interest in meaningful protection.

On the Charles River, the fake protective group seems unaltered in its con game.

2. Charles River - Private Initiative.

This week’s Environmental Monitor, http://www.env.state.ma.us/mepa/emonitor.aspx, in its first section, has a notice of an environmental notification form on the “Lechmere Viaduct / Steam Pipeline Project.”

The short explanation is that the proposal is to pipe steam heat from a power plant near the Charles and east of Kendall Square to a viaduct which holds the MBTA’s Green Line streetcar line, and then to a distribution service serving Boston. This replaces dumping it into the Charles River.

Excess heat is being rerouted from the Charles River to positive use. Downright commendable.

I would love to hear any comments anybody might have, at boblat@yahoo.com.

As it is, private industry, once again is clearly more responsible than the public corruption which is destroying environment on the Charles River and at Alewife.

3. Alewife and Charles River - Cambridge City Council.

I could have missed something, but I see no positive initiatives on meaningful environmental protection.

I do see the usual con games on saving the world from the Cambridge City Council at its latest meeting, but how dare you expect us to refrain from destroying Cambridge. Naturally, the latter is omitted, the usual lies of omission.

Order number 4 by Simmons was tabled. It was the usual con game.

Simmons wanted a report on pending construction.

Their secret definition of construction does not include state and local destruction by omission.

The city council is publicizing a city science festival. As usual, sounds great, totally of no positive value when you are looking at the ongoing and multiplying environmental destruction. It sounds great. In context, the usual con game.

Going in the wrong direction, the city council progressed a proposed zoning change which, if passed, based on the general description available, would make construction on Massachusetts Avenue near Alewife Brook in North Cambridge more environmentally destructive. The area in question is about half a mile from the Alewife reservation which has seen such irresponsible government destruction with much worse apparently coming in the future.

If I missed something, I would be pleased to learn about it.

4. Alewife - Public silence assists destruction.

I have been getting communications from the “neighborhood protectors” with regard to the project slated for the parking lot which should hold flood storage for which major destruction has been inflicted on the Alewife reservation, and which needs to be used for flood storage in conjunction with this project.

The communications indicate the usual situation with regard to the Cambridge Pols.

They are chasing their tails like folk controlled by the corrupt situation in Cambridge City Hall.

They are running around making public meetings on the project all over the place.

There seems to be no interest whatsoever in positive action.

Positive action translates into talking to the Cambridge City Council and telling the Cambridge City Council that flood storage for regional protection needs to be included in the project.

“You can’t win, you can’t win, you can’t win, but have we go a deal for you.”

The constant, very destructive slogan of the Cambridge Pols in the corrupt situation in the City of Cambridge.

5. Charles River - Public

A. The area of the steam plant: Mass. General Hospital area’s Ebersol Fields.

The DCR is aggressively destroying by dumping poisons on the Boston side onto Ebersol Fields.

This is the predecessor project to Magazine Beach. At one point, the poisons were not working well enough. So they dumped stuff prohibited near water. The next day, the Charles was dead with algae from the harbor to the Mass. Ave. Bridge. It recurs annually now.

Without the corruption assisted by the fake groups, the responsible behavior would be to spend the money on seed for the responsible grass which they destroyed at Magazine Beach. Until destroyed, it survived very well for the better part of a century.

B. Magazine Beach, the usual con game from a fake protective group with a belligerently bad record.

I just checked the blog of the fake protective organization which now proclaims its love for Magazine Beach. This seems to be the product of the fake protective organization which claims to be protecting the Cambridgeport neighborhood.

No changes, just the usual corruption, lying by omission.

The fake group is lying about its love and concern by announcing a Magazine Beach cleanup.

The game here is to sound great and do nothing. Last I heard, the Department of Conservation and Recreation was being paid by the legislature to clean up Magazine Beach.

But the key to the lie, by omission of course, is to tell people not to look at the poisons being dumped on the bank of the Charles River, not to look at the bizarre wall of introduced bushes blocking off access to the Charles River for humans and animals, not to look at the decrease in playing fields to drain of poisons which should not even be dumped, not to look at the ease to correct the poisoning (just sew seeds for the responsible grass which lived there for 60 years or so without poisons), not to look at the ease in correcting the wall of introduced bushes (chop them down like the DCR / Charles River “Conservancy” does to all other bordering vegetation twice a year), not to look at the destruction of the boat dock, not to look at the heartless starving of the Charles River White Geese, not to look at the outrages between the BU Bridge and the BU Boathouse, not to look at reality.

After all, they loudly proclaim that they love Magazine Beach. Aren’t they doing clean up that the DCR is paid to do?

But they have a deal for you: fix up the historical buildings, and do not look at the related destruction of the picnic area across from Magazine Street by destroying its parking. Oh, yes, and don’t correct the outrages which we are hiding with our lies of omission.

6. Summary.

Private industry is being responsible on the Charles and at Alewife. The corrupt public entities are using controlled groups to aid in their destruction of the environment and lie about what they are doing.

March photos near the Charles River, Cambridge, MA, USA, publication 2

07 03-10-12
08 03-10-12

These photos are a strong example to those who say “They would never stoop so low” with regard to Cambridge, MA and its friends.

This false impression comes from the non stop lies of environmental sainthood which very consistently are lies of omission. English translation: flat out corruption.

These photos are taken of the block of Vassar Street, Cambridge, behind the Hyatt Regency Cambridge hotel, which, in turn, is a block east of the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese and on the opposite side of Memorial Drive.

This block used to be filled with a ceiling which was a canopy of massive trees whose base were on the left sidewalk. Those magnificent trees vastly dwarfed the excellent trees on the right.

The road bends, the destroyed trees were nearly visible from Memorial Drive.

Why were these excellent trees destroyed? A corrupt, city government with contempt for the values of decent human beings is my translation.

The “planners” were planting saplings the length of Vassar Street and, in my opinion, they wanted all the trees consistent. These now destroyed massive, excellent trees would dwarf their saplings. So the excellent trees were casually destroyed.

This corruption exactly fits the plans to destroy hundreds excellent trees on Memorial Drive between Magazine Beach and the Longfellow Bridge.

It exactly fits the destruction at Alewife. It exactly fits the destruction at Magazine Beach. It exactly fits the heartless animal abuse of the Charles River White Geese.

A close look on the left will reveal the saplings planted by this corrupt government.


































Our last post from this photo session may be viewed at: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/charles-river-white-geese-stirrings-of.html
This earlier post presents Photos 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 24, 25 from the 3/10/12 photo session.

Selected Entities Funding the Charles River “Conservancy” — Part 3

One of the biggest parts of the corrupt situation destroying the environment of the Charles River in Boston / Cambridge, MA is the plethora of “protective groups” associated with Cambridge which keep on achieving the opposite of what they sound like they stand for.

The record of the Charles River “Conservancy” goes back more than a decade and it is very destructive. You name the destructive initiative on the Charles River, they are on the wrong side.

The Charles River “Conservancy” constantly and very visibly lies about their reason for existence by using the word “Conservancy” in its name. The number of people it troops as its activists very certainly includes a lot of people who have been duped by the lying in its name and by who knows what irresponsible techniques used less publicly. These tactics are normal in Cambridge, MA, USA.

One of the first things Friends of the White Geese did in 2000 was to discredit the predecessor of the Charles River “Conservancy” in Spring 2000. This “new group” with overlapping directors showed up in the Fall. The predecessor has barely been seen since.

I have recently reported on the Longfellow Bridge Repairs. This falsely named Charles River “Conservancy” was there fighting against the needs of bicycle commuters by restricting them to the sidewalk on the Longfellow Bridge and claiming to be advancing the interests of bicyclists.

One recent outrage is that the Charles River “Conservancy” also has been claimed to be associated with a comparable “neighborhood association” in a blog which gives the false impression that the blog is defending the environment at Magazine Beach on the Charles River. The few names used favorably on that blog are not favorable to the environment on the Charles River. The entries are deceptive and include severe lies of omission.

The following is another partial list of entities contributing to the environmentally destructive and falsely named Charles River Conservancy.

This list is taken from an attachment to its Fall 2011 fundraising letter bragging about, among other things, its fight for a new small vehicle highway on and in the Charles River on the Cambridge side. This major initiative would destroy hundreds of healthy trees, wetlands, and animal habitat including major portions of the habitat of the Charles River White Geese.

As usual, the damage is not mentioned any more than they can help.

The CRC’s list of contributors is preceded with the comment: “We are grateful to our corporate sponsors and to the foundations who have supported us over the last 18 months.”

VERY prominently displayed at the top of the list are the following logos:

The Boston Foundation
Intersystems
WilmerHale
Massachusetts Environmental Trust
Bank of America
Fidelity Investments
Converse

The fourth grouping of sponsors is as follows. Please excuse errors in name compilation. Printing of the names is in white letters on a beige background. This is definitely not conducive to accurate reading.

*********

Steward

Altman Valandric and Company
Bensai West
Bredin Business Information
Cambridge Plant and Garden Club
The Charles Hotel
Entercom
Intuit Foundation
New England College of Optometry
Riverside Boat Club
Schlumberger
Sea-Dar Construction
State Street Corporation
Uxell Corporation
Vistaprint USA, Inc.
W/S Development Associates, LLC
Watertown Community Foundation
Yoga for Mainstream People, LLC

*********

Very visible on the list are Harvard University, MIT Community Service Fund, Harvard Business School, Boston University, Allston Brighton / Boston College Community Fund, and the New England College of Optometry.

Our prior postings on this issue presented the first three groupings on this list of shame. The postings may be viewed as follows:

First two groupings:
http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/selected-non-profits-funding-charles.html.

Third grouping:
http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/selected-entities-funding-charles-river.html.

The Charles River White Geese: Stirrings of Spring in a Destroyed Riverfront

On March 10, 2012, I took a number of photos of the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese and of a nearby area showing the corrupt environmental situation on the Charles River in Massachusetts, USA.

Here are a few of these cherished long term residents making the most of their lives under attack by corrupt governments.

09 03-10-12

This photo is of the top of a hillside above the Charles River. The tracks are the grand junction. This is part of the area whose ground vegetation has been destroyed since the Charles River “Conservancy” started destroying the environment for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The Charles River White Geese have lived in the Magazine Beach area of the Charles River for more than 30 years, creating their own closely knit world.

Since destruction of their world by corrupt governmental bodies, the Charles River White Geese have frequently nested in this barren area and even next to the tracks.

Corrupt governmental practices has left them little more.

This shot and the following shots are of areas that the Cambridge Pols lie about through omission when they brag about their pride in Magazine Beach but do not want to know about what their controllers have done at Magazine Beach during the last twelve years.

The photo was taken from a railroad bridge which is part of the Memorial Drive complex.















10 03-10-12, Goose Meadow, BU Bridge, from stairs

This is a panoramic view of an artificially created wasteland at the Destroyed Nesting Area. At the bottom can be seen white figures which are the Charles River White Geese eking out what is now a miserable existence in what was beauty.

The darker colors to the right and above that are the areas destroyed in the Bu Bridge repairs. The BU Bridge is above the darker colors. The area to the right was destroyed totally unnecessarily for storage that should have been placed under Memorial Drive.

The green lining the darker colors are the tiny portion of ground vegetation that has not been destroyed by the DCR and CRC since the CRC started destroying in 2003.

The photo is taken from the top of a staircase illegally installed by Boston University in 1999. BU denied doing the work for six months until they were condemned for it by the Cambridge Conservation Commission. They immediately started bragging about their illegal work and blamed that six months of lies on their president’s secretary who was not fired.















11, 03-10-12, hill, geese, gd junction, BU

Another formerly lush area destroyed since 2003. The white figures are the Charles River White Geese. At the top is the Grand Junction Railroad. To the right is the area shown in the immediately previous photo. Boston University on the opposite, south, side of the Charles River may be seen at the top.





















13 03-10-12 DNA geese, s of constr zone, BU Bridge
14 03-10-12, Geese east end on const zone
15 03-10-12 geese, w end of const zone, BU Bridge

Here are three shots of the geese trying to live their lives in a destroyed world. The first two photos show the eastern area of destruction in the northern end of the Destroyed Nesting Area. The third shows the destruction next to the BU Bridge. The area in the middle was formerly lush. It has been destroyed since the CRC started doing the DCR’s destruction in 2003. Notice the vehicles in the middle photo. There are no vehicles parked next to the BU Bridge. The area next to the BU Bridge had to be destroyed for access to the BU Bridge for work. Those vehicles should have been placed in the area next to the BU Bridge.









































17 03-10-12 DNA, geese, edge of water, Gd Jctn Bridge.

This area is against the Charles River in the middle of the southern boundary of the Destroyed Nesting Area. It, like almost everything else, used to be lush and was the location of many nests. At the top of the photo is the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge above the Charles River.
















24 03-10-12 DNA Access Area, corner to corner, free land, Charles, BU

This photo is corner to corner in the Destroyed Nesting Area. The Charles River White Geese may be seen at the far corner. Behind the camera is the corner where the BU Bridge intersects with the on ramp to Memorial Drive east. The black strips are plastic boundaries set for the construction zone. To the left is the area which was destroyed for no purpose whatsoever. To the right is the area next to the BU Bridge where those vehicles should be parked. The blue is the Charles River. At the top is Boston University’s buildings on the south, far, side of the Charles River.
















25 03-10-12

Photo taken pretty much from the same location as the immediately prior one. This is of the leg of construction destruction for which there was no viable excuse. The vehicles previously shown are shown more realistically. Note all that empty space. The blue toward the top is the Charles River. Below it is the Grand Junction Railroad. The Charles River White Geese can be seen under the trees. This last area was the subject of the first few photos.

Ducks / Charles River White Geese crossing the street

1. Introduction.
2. Jan Comments.
3. Anjell Comments.
4. Your Editor.
5. Connection to reality.


1. Introduction.

Ellen provided a good post on facebook of ducks crossing a city street, and it led to a little good conversation.

Easily a hundred ducks one at a time, in line, probably more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJF-mgOHSvM.

I shared the post with my personal list. Some comments and my edited reply.

2. Jan Comments.

Love it. I had a friend stop traffic on Rte 128 to cross Canada Geese with their little ones. Crazy man, he could have been squished. But the birds made it, so did he.

3. Anjell Comments.

I love it. I have been fortunate to witness this several times, while passing underneath the BU Bridge. Hate 2 admit, I have stopped traffic many times, while drivers sat in their cars and called me names! ---- These babies mean the world 2 me.----thank u Robert for posting it.

4. Your Editor.

Since the state and Cambridge started deliberately starving them, the Charles River White Geese have many times crossed the Memorial Drive on ramp from the BU Bridge, next to the Destroyed Nesting Area to feed on grass under Memorial Drive.

I have had some very lovely experiences managing traffic to assist them. They handle the crossing more intelligently than ducks do. One will stand at the side of the ramp and then cross only when it is safe. Trouble is that, once they start crossing, they no longer look so smart. They do cross in a group which is definitely a lot smarter than the ducks going in a single file. Trouble is that members of the gaggle tend to lose concentration and, instead of directly crossing, wander.

The BU Bridge repairs are essentially done and, while the desolation remains, some geese have crossed into the construction zone.

I imagine the Charles River White Geese will commence looking for that luscious grass.

5. Connection to reality.

The Charles River White Geese are being deliberately starved, after all, with the assistance of fake groups praising corrupt government bodies and not wanting to know about the last twelve years of history.

Heartless animal abuse. How dare you live in reality!!! People might think that Cambridge and its friends at the state level are corrupt and destructive!!!

But they have some city councilors and state legislators they constantly praise and encourage you to vote for, using the correct politically correct lies of omission.

After all, the last 12 years do not exist in their world.

The Cambridge machine praises destruction on the Charles River, through omission

1. Introduction.
2. Basic reason for continuing irresponsible behavior.
3. History of Magazine Beach.
4. “The athletes want their playing fields.”
5. The results of the stacked survey support undoing the destruction.
6. Starving the Charles River White Geese.
7. Summary.


1. Introduction.

The Cambridge, MA City Manager’s front organization for Cambridgeport had a public meeting on Magazine Beach last night, March 28. It turned out that their “survey”, in spite of years of censorship by the machine, condemned that part of the outrage which does not fall into the category “they would never stoop so low.”

So the same people will run around lying that Cambridge has a responsible government and based on those lies, seeking further destruction.

It is always a mistake to try to figure out the rationale for destruction by the Cambridge Machine.

Their basic argument always translates into: You can’t win. You can’t win. You can’t win. But have I got a deal for you.

So then they run around praising the unpraisable and fighting for reelection of city councilors, reps and senators they describe as intransigent and so corrupt that they will not undo obvious irresponsibilities which were, when done, either exactly the opposite of what they promised or deliberately kept secret.

2. Basic reason for continuing irresponsible behavior.

Because the city council / city manager / state bureaucrats / state reps and senators are not about to undo what they just did.

In spite of the fact that they promised exactly the opposite?

In spite of the fact that they kept their plans secret?

In spite of the fact that minimally correcting the unjustifiable situation will cost next to nothing?

In spite of the fact that your own stacked survey came out condemning the destruction except insofar as it falls into the category: they would never stoop so low?

So the machine trudges on lying to well intentioned people through “initiatives” that ignore the irresponsible and fight to achieve more irresponsible “achievements”, irresponsible “achievements” which are never mentioned if they can suppress them.

Clearly, indisputably, a corrupt government.

3. History of Magazine Beach.

The usual censorship.

The meeting included extended discussion of the old history.

The last ten years were suppressed from the formal presentation.

“If you want that, use your comment time.”

Comment time went from “3 minutes if you can hold it to that” to an absolute limit of three minutes with constant shouting from the chair during the last minute.

4. “The athletes want their playing fields.”

One explanation provided by the Cambridge Machine for the destruction at Magazine Beach.

But the athletes got shafted. The playing fields were decreased in size to allow drainage pits for the poisons.

The poisons are being dumped onto the banks of the Charles River to keep alive sickly introduced grass that was put in in place of healthy grass which survived the better part of a century.

The way to give the athletes the playing fields they had ten years ago is to move money from paying for poisons to keep the sickly grass alive to paying for grass seed to grow the grass they destroyed. Then they can fill in the drainage system and return it to the playing fields which were destroyed.

But they cannot do that. Their friends are too corrupt to reverse their recent “achievements” in spite of the fact that decreasing playing fields is exactly the opposite of what was promised.

And Cambridge has too corrupt a city government to correct obvious errors achieved by doing the opposite of what was promised.

And won’t you join us in praising this corrupt city government and its destructive behavior?

And won’t you join us in extending the irresponsible destruction while suppressing the irresponsible aspects as much as we can get away with?

And won’t you join us in reelecting city councilors and state reps and senators whom we insist are too corrupt to correct obviously wrong behavior?

5. The results of the stacked survey support undoing the destruction.

The survey was clearly stacked because reality is suppressed by the Cambridge Machine to the maximum extent possible.

Two things which clearly came up were: (1) objection to blocking off the Charles from Magazine Beach and (2) a need for boat docking.

The fact that both were destroyed in the past ten years is suppressed to the maximum extent possible.

After all their city councilors and state reps and senators are too corrupt to correct the obvious irresponsibility of the past ten years, and won’t you help us reelect these fine people?

Oh, and it is totally irrelevant that the Department of Conservation and Recreation through its falsely named Charles River “Conservancy” twice a year chops down all vegetation bordering on the Charles River basin except this bizarre wall.

And it is also irrelevant that the “Master Plan” of the DCR called for a lawn to the river at Magazine Beach. After they proved that promise yet another lie, the DCR changed the "master plan."

And the swim in by the CRC to celebrate the destruction at Magazine Beach is also irrelevant. How dare you point out the walling off of Magazine Beach from the Charles River to prove claims of aiding swimming to be yet another lie?

6. Starving the Charles River White Geese.

What to do?

A deadly silence.

And won’t you help us reelect these fine councilors and state reps and senators who are too corrupt to refrain from heartless animal abuse?

Oh, and the twelve years of lying by the state bureaucrats that they have “no intention to harm” the Charles River White Geese is totally irrelevant.

7. Summary.

A rotten situation.

Oh, and the Cambridge Machine never used the word “corrupt.” The Cambridge Machine NEVER uses accurate terminology when misleading euphemisms are available.

Good news on the Western Avenue and River Street Bridges repair project over the Charles River

The lead environmental destroyer on the Charles River, the falsely named Charles River “Conservancy” has reported on the March 13 and 15 public meetings concerning the repair of the Western Avenue and River Street Bridges over the Charles River. These are the next two bridges to the west from the BU Bridge.

The technical reason for the hearings is that they are for the “25% design” on the project by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

This entity states that the CRC and fellow destroyers are fighting for underpasses on the south, BOSTON, side. That sounds very wrong, very certainly a typo. The fight is on the Cambridge side.

This outrage has already been rejected by MassDOT and the Department of Conservation and Recreation for its environmental destructiveness. As usual with these characters, lying by omission is the norm. The environmental destruction would include large environmental / wetlands / tree destruction and further heartless animal abuse, on the CAMBRIDGE side. The agencies referred to the proposal as the “Cambridge”: proposal when they rejected it. They did not deign to give credence to these cheerleaders.

The reporting entity is hurt that the plans for the bridges are responsible and do not comport with the environmental destruction they want.

Interestingly, the report states that Senator Brownsberger, Representatives Honan, Moran, and Wolf, and Cambridge Mayor Henrietta Davis spoke. Brownsberger, Wolf and Davis have bad records. It is likely they spoke in favor of environmental destruction.

The vague wording in the report gives the impression that the other two spoke in favor of destruction as well. That vague wording is almost certainly deliberately misleading.

Business as usual from the bad guys.

We had conflicts for the meeting, and it sounds like nothing new happened.

I would appreciate input from knowledgeable friends.

What can we do to help on the Charles River?

INTRO.
1. Respond to an integrated attack on the environment.

2. Basic Action.

3. Contact the big guys.
4. Specific contact information.
5. Estate Planning and the Charles River White Geese.

6. Part of the problem.

A. Charles River, Abridged.

B. Destruction of the core Alewife reservation has been achieved.  Total destruction is likely without major changes..
C. The magnificent grove which constituted the entrance to the Cambridge Common was destroyed in April 2015.
D. Honorably retired Cambridge City Manager condemned by the courts for destroying a black, Cape Verdean, woman’s life in retaliation for her filing a civil rights action.
E. And this is, by far, not the only environmental destruction.
7. Summary.


INTRO.

If you can only do one thing, contact the governor.

Governor Charles Baker is at the heart of this situation on the state side.  His managers do not merit attention.  His own contact information is:

Email form: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituent-services/contact-governor-office/

888-870-7770 / 617-725-4005.


1.  Respond to an integrated attack on the environment.

The basic purpose of this blog is to protect the Charles River, its animals, its vegetation, its waters and its air from truly destructive state and local governments, and the fake groups that they work through.

It would be foolhardy to think that this problem is limited to the Charles River.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the City of Cambridge are destroying both the Charles River and virgin wild areas in the western part of Cambridge.

Cambridge has destroyed the excellent grove which constitutes the entrance to the Cambridge Common with state moneys.

We will proceed with what you can do and complete in the following sections with preliminary comments in sections 1, 2 and 3,

• in Section 4, with specific bullets to raise.

• in Section 5, with specific contact information of people to contact

• in Section 6, with more formal assistance possible.

• in Section 7, with a brief summary of the problems.

2. Basic Action.

First of all, please friend the Charles River White Geese on facebook.

Secondly, this blog has a link by which you can make a contribution to Friends of the White Geese through Paypal which accepts all major credit cards.  Money is crucial to publicize the escalating outrage.

By snail mail, please send contributions to:

Friends of the White Geese
Post Office Box 391412
Cambridge, MA  02139.

Fliers are minimal.  Print advertisements are ideal.  Mass mailings are a dream which might come true with your help.

These contributions are NOT tax deductible.


Workers, telephoning / writing and money are key.

We need leafleters, especially at the BU Bridge, but also at key meetings.  Please contact Bob at 617-283-7649 or at boblat@yahoo.com.


3. Contact the big guys.

The really destructive people on the first ten miles of Charles River and in the most important part of Alewife are the governments, especially the state and Cambridge.

They have a very major weakness.  They run around pretty much nonstop proclaiming they are environmental saints, and they have massive organizations repeating these silly claims.

The Cambridge City Government is particularly sensitive because they certainly look like they are in contact with pretty much everybody.

At the state level, the bureaucrats are beneath consideration.  The responsible person is the governor.  And the worst of the destruction is on state property.

The governor is very likely the one person most likely to behave responsibly.  He had nothing to do with the allocation of funds for destruction of all those trees and animal habitat.  The key legislation is Chapter 286, Acts of 2014, “Historic Parkways”. $20 million is specified.

The governor is in office as a Republican smart management type.  This expenditure is anything but.

The City of Cambridge is very much a part of the destruction.  Moneys come from the Cambridge City Council.  The Cambridge City Council routinely tells everybody how to save the world.

The Cambridge City Council brags of environmental initiatives.  They vote the bad stuff fast, occasionally by suspending rules to keep things as secret as possible.  They then brag about “initiatives” which are next too meaningless.  The Cambridge City Council is fully within its powers and its duties to end these outrages.

Communication is crucial, individual and, if possible, on a large scale.


4.   Specific Bullets to Raise.

• Give back to the state the $20 million in Chapter 286 of the Acts of 2014 for “Historic Parkways” massive irresponsible destruction on Memorial Drive. Kill the new highway behind the swimming pool and on Magazine Beach hill.

• Kill plans to destroy the lovely parking lot at the foot of Magazine Street which is needed for the Magazine Beach picnic area.

• Make the bike highway plans responsible.  No Mass. Pike off ramp from the Mass. Pike over the Grand Junction bridge, now or in phases.  No massive tree destruction.  Connect Grand Junction bike highway to Memorial Drive by Vassar Street.

• Stop tossing on poisons to keep alive the invasive introduced grass.  Seed the responsible grass they destroyed.   No silly drainage.  Kill proposed expansion to the top of the hill and behind the swimming pool.  Return responsible grass.

• Chop down the bizarre wall of introduced bushes which blocks off the Charles River from the playing fields.  Chop it down like all other bordering vegetation is on the Charles River.  Twice a year.  Restore clear lines of access for the Charles River White Geese to return to their food and home of most of the last 34 years, the responsible grasses of the playing fields.

• End DCR’s killing and driving away of resident animals.  Cherish the treasure of the Charles River White Geese.

5. Specific contact information.

Contact Information for people to contact:

A long shot, if these people are still trying to stick in Obama moneys is President Barack Obama.  Millions of Obama stimulus dollars were requested for destruction of hundreds of healthy trees between the BU Boathouse and the Longfellow Bridge, PLUS being used for destruction of even more goose food across from the Hyatt Regency Hotel.  That money could be once again requested.  It is normal to find out about dirty tricks after the fact.

President Obama’s email contact form is:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/. His telephone number is:  202-456-6213.

Much more important right now is Governor Charles Baker.

Governor Charles Baker is at the heart of this situation on the state side.  Governor Baker’s contact information is:

Email form: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituent-services/contact-governor-office/

888-870-7770 / 617-725-4005.

It is pointless to contact the Cambridge City Manager.  It may be useful to contact the Cambridge Conservation Commission although its members are the Manager's appointees.  (One former appointee in a different city agency won that $8.3M legal payment against the City Manager for his retaliation against her when he found her civil rights complaint displeasing. As I mentioned above, Cambridge lost the case and the Cambridge City Council has it in its power to fire the City Manager because of the court decisions.)

The Cambridge Conservation Commission may be reached by e-mail:
Director Jennifer Wright, jwright@CambridgeMA.GOV; telephone: 617-349-4680.

The Cambridge City Council and other city officials and their supporters dismiss concerns about these environmental outrages to the extent they comment at all.  2011 is, however, an election year and voters need to know where the candidates stand.

Incumbent City Councillors are:

Mayor David P. Maher
mailto:dmaher@cambridgema.gov
617-547-7219 (H), 617-349-4280 (W)

Dennis A Benzan,
mailto:dbenzan@cambridgema.gov
617-800-7301 (H), 617-349-4280 (W)


Dennis J. Carlone,
mailto:dcarlone@cambridgema.gov
617-494-9559 (H), 617-349-4280 (W)

Leland Cheung,
mailto:LCheung@cambridgema.gov
617-491-2692 (H), 617-349-4280 (W)

Craig A. Kelley
mailto:ckelley@cambridgema.gov
617-354-8353 (H), 617-349-4280 (W)

Nadeem A. Mazen,
mailto:nmazen@cambridgema.gov
617-825-4638S (H), 617-349-4280 (W)

Marc C. McGovern,
mailto:mmcgovern@cambridgema.gov
617-945-1866 (H), 617-349-4280 (W)

E. Denise Simmons
mailto:dsimmons@cambridgema.gov
617-491-7435 (H), 617-349-4321 (W)

Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.
Also State Representative
mailto:TimToomey@aol.com
617-576-6483 (H), 617-349-4280 (W)


State Representatives:

Marjorie Decker
marjorie.decker@mahouse.gov
617-722-2450, State House Room 136

Jonathan Hecht
jonathan.hecht@mahouse.gov
617-722-2140, State House Room 22

Jay Livingstone
jay.livingstone@mahouse.gov
617-722-2011, State House Room 136

David Rogers
dave.rogers@mahouse.gov
617-722-2460, State House Room 472

Timothy Toomey (above) serves both as Cambridge City Councilor and State Representative


State Senators:

Sal DiDomenico
Sal.DiDomenico@masenate.gov
617-722-1650, State House Room 208

Patricia Jehlen
patricia.jehlen@masenate.gov
617-722-1578, State House Room 424

Anthony Petrucelli
Anthony.Petruccelli@masenate
617-722-1634, State House Room 109D


It is our opinion that, in order to end the attacks on the Charles River, and possibly Alewife as well, the Cambridge City Manager must be fired, along with 10 out of 9 Cambridge City Councilors..  Minka vanBeuzecom is the tenth.  She was on the prior City Council.  As of this writing, she seems to be a candidate to return to the Cambridge City Council.  She shares guilt for outrages on the Charles River, Alewife and Cambridge Common.  It is silly not to include her as guilty.

6. Estate Planning and the Charles River White Geese.

A very major defect in Massachusetts law has existed concerning binding transfers for the benefit of animals.

The state legislature and the governor have recently added Chapter 203, section 3C to the General Laws.

Under this wording, trust conveyances can be made for the care of animals alive during the donor’s lifetime.  The money cannot be retained beyond the death of the last surviving animal alive during the donor’s lifetime (legally important words).  I have recently had a report by a caregiver of White Chinas living into their 30's.

Almost all of the Charles River White Geese have the appearance of White China Geese or of Emden Geese or of their progeny.

The trust can be created during the donor’s lifetime or by will at the time of death.

For the specific language of the change, please see:  http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2010/Chapter430.


7. Part of the problem.

A. Charles River, Abridged.

Massive destruction has been done at the Magazine Beach playing fields on the Charles River in Cambridge, just west of the BU Bridge.  Heartless starvation is being imposed on the Charles River White Geese as part of a public policy of killing off all animals on the Charles River Basin with hypocritical lies whitewashing things.  Poisons are being dumped on the banks of the Charles River to keep alive introduced invasive grasses which replace seven acres of healthy grass that survived without poisons for the better part of a Century.  The Magazine Beach playing fields have been walled off from the Charles River with a bizarre wall of introduced invasive bushes.  This bizarre wall is the only vegetation bordering the Charles River Basis which is NOT destroyed twice a year.  The manager brags that it starves the Charles River White Geese.

The local fake group is fighting for all destruction planned by Cambridge and its friends by telling people not to look at it.  In particular, they are fighting to keep and expand the invasive plantings to the top on the hill west of the playing fields and to the area behind the swimming pool.  They would put in a bike highway which is related to massive destruction supported between the BU and Longfellow Bridges.  They ae fighting to destroy the little guys parking lot.  All of this is in coordination with the Department of Conservation and Recreation working with Cambridge.

Pretty much all ground vegetation was destroyed between the BU Bridge and the BU Boathouse to the east except for vegetation near planned construction work on the BU Bridge.  This is the area to which the Charles River White Geese have been confined since the destruction at Magazine Beach.  Their habitat for most of the time since 1981 has been a mile long stretch centered on the BU Bridge.  The destruction of ground vegetation has been done since anoter fake protective group which lies in its name that it is a “conservancy” started destroying the environment for the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Massive and very much worse tree destruction is planned.  Hundreds of trees are targeted, along with wildlife habitat, between Magazine Beach and the Longfellow Bridge in one of many projects.  In 2014, by Chapter 286, of the Acts of 2014, “Historic Parkways”, the State House allocated $20 Million for the destruction of hundreds of trees and of animal habitat on the Charles River’s Cambridge side between the BU and Longfellow Bridge.

The DCR brags, translating the fine print, of intent to kill off all resident animals in the Charles River Basin.


B. Destruction of the core Alewife reservation has been achieved.  Total destruction is likely without major changes..

The Alewife reservation was an essentially virgin and massive woods just west of the subway Red Line’s terminus, Alewife station.

This vile behavior is playing out at Alewife where 3.4 plus acres of virgin woodlands were destroyed by Cambridge and the DCR with state and local moneys, commencing in October 2011.  The big difference at Alewife is that the local fake group, after years of telling people concerned about Alewife to look at everything except the most important pending destruction planned by their friends, has gone public, through their leader and creator, admitting 19 years of con games to be flat out lies by praising the environmental destruction in the Cambridge Chronicle on September 16, 2011, and in a publication on line.  She followed up by bragging to a fake “environmental” discussion group.

The massive destruction at Alewife is claimed to be for flood storage to protect against two year floods, directly across the street from a massive parking lot which readily could be used for a very large multiple of the flood storage possible through their silly and very very destructive project.

The extreme irresponsibility of the Alewife situation may be seen on Google Maps.  Go to maps.google.com, select satellite view, and go to 100 Cambridge Park Drive, Cambridge, MA.  Directly above the street used to be an excellent, virgin wood lands with thousands of excellent animals.  There is now a scar in the middle of this formerly virgin woods.  Cambridge brags of this destruction and mass animal killing on its website.

Badly needed is a taking of underground property in new construction for flood storage as joint projects between Cambridge and local developers.  This type of storage is in place in properties south of Cambridge Park Drive at a scale appropriate for the projects.  Much larger scale is needed to undo failure to replace previously destroyed wetlands.


C. The magnificent grove which constituted the entrance to the Cambridge Common was destroyed in April 2015.


D. Honorably retired Cambridge City Manager condemned by the courts for destroying a black, Cape Verdean, woman’s life in retaliation for her filing a civil rights action.

One key person, now honorably retired Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy, has indulged in behavior called “reprehensible” by the superior court (http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/judge-issues-decision-denying.html) with the appeals court agreeing, finding “ample evidence [of] outrageous conduct.” (http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/appeals-court-decision-in-monteiro.html)

This Cambridge City Manager has, civilly, been found guilty of destroying the life of Malvina Monteiro, a black, Cape Verdean department head, by firing her in retaliation for her filing a civil right complaint.  Cambridge has paid her $8.3 million in response to the court decisions, including $3.5 million penal damage awarded by the jury.  The City of Cambridge paid $14,569,558 in five related cases which include Monteiro.

These combined decisions gave the self declared environmental and civil rights saints on the Cambridge City Council power to fire the Cambridge City Manager for malfeasance in office without his golden parachute and, possibly, without pension.

The Court condemned City Manager, Robert Healy, was allowed to retire with honor and with the Cambridge Police Station named after him.

This situation, in addition to the true vileness involved, sent a message to folks expecting responsible behavior from the City of Cambridge, whether those folks are employed by the City of Cambridge or otherwise.

That message was that, even with extreme condemnation, the Cambridge City Council does not give a whoot about what responsible people, even the Courts, think about punishment meted out by the Cambridge City Manager to people standing in his way.


E. And this is, by far, not the only environmental destruction.

It is not too late.


8. Summary.

Thank you in advance for whatever you can do.

This report was initially posted October 10, 2008

This report was updated most recently on April 28, 2015.

In recent years, we have posted a lot of supporting photographs.  This summary is extremely long as it is.  The photographs are not provided because this summary is extremely long as it is.

Save Kendall Square rooftop open space or the Charles River (or Alewife)?

1. General.

In the March 22, 2012 Cambridge Chronicle, the editor printed three letters to the editor, all on the “rooftop garden” at Cambridge’s Kendall Square.

The second and third letters were from a husband/wife tag team who use different names.

The first was from me.

The situation stems from the bizarre Cambridge zoning rules while require extremely little open space and allow half of that to be on the roof.

To make it worse, Kendall Square has special zoning which “spells things out” in a totally different way from the rest of the ordinance, thus hiding reality.

The husband/wife couple is smack dab in the middle of the Cambridge Pol organization. They have a long record. Two and only two examples:

They helped killed a Department of Conservation and Recreation project which would have converted the current Lechmere Square Green Line Rapid Transit station to open space after it is moved to the other side of McGrath / O’Brien Highway.

They had their own "open space" proposal: Two buildings with a plaza in between them. They kept the buildings as secret as possible. They bragged about the plaza without mentioning that the plaza was almost certainly required under the open space requirements for the two buildings that they kept as secret as possible.

They ran around lying that they were fighting for an open space proposal.

They also assisted the fake protective group at Alewife in its fight to destroy irreplaceable virgin woodlands at Alewife.

The couple, without identifying themselves as a couple, got two letters to the editor printed fighting to save rooftop open space in Kendall Square.

2. My letter.

My letter was printed first, with the heading:

“Save the roof top garden? Save the Charles River!”

The letter:

**********

I think it is a lot more important to save the Charles River.

End the dumping of poisons at Magazine Beach. Chop down the bizarre introduced vegetation which walls off Magazine Beach from the Charles River. Just like bordering vegetation is destroyed everywhere else on the Charles River basis twice a year.

Stop starving the Charles River White Geese. Let them return to Magazine Beach where they have fed and lived most of the last 30 years until their world was destroyed by a truly bizarre project.

Let nature return to the area between the BU Bridge and the BU Boathouse where almost all ground vegetation has been destroyed.

Stop the bizarre plans to extend the destruction to destruction of the picnic area at the foot of Magazine Street by destroying its tiny and environmentally responsible parking.

Stop the annual poisoning of the eggs of migratory waterfowl.

Let nature exist on the Charles River as it did 10 years ago before these bizarre projects did so much harm.

Charles River “Conservancy” Glories in Magnificent Grove it is fighting to Destroy?

How low can these people go?

Key factors in the destruction on the Charles River and the Cambridge, MA area in general are the destructive groups' lying about which side the groups are on.

This way they con people into destroying what their victims cherish. The “Friends of the Alewife Reservation” destroyed a key part of the Alewife reservation using this con. And they may yet destroy it all.

The Charles River “Conservancy” and the Cambridgeport “Neighborhood Association” are fighting for heartless animal abuse, dumping of poisons and walling off of Magazine Beach from the Charles River using this tactic and fighting for further destruction.

Below is another photograph taken from the Charles River “Conservancy”’s facebook page.
















The Charles River “Conservancy” is fighting for the destruction of hundreds of trees on the Cambridge side of the Charles River between Magazine Beach and the Longfellow Bridge.

One of the vilest goals of this really destructive organization is the destruction of a magnificent grove of about 104 trees at the Memorial Drive split perhaps half a mile from the Ghetto in which they have confined the beautiful Charles River White Geese. The ghetto where almost all ground vegetation has been destroyed since this falsely name group started environmental destruction for the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

This photo strongly looks like the excellent grove at the Memorial Drive splint these rotten people are fighting to destroy.

And they are lying that they cherish this magnificent grove to con good people into doing the terrible deeds of the Charles River “Conservancy.”

This photograph is reproduced without permission under the fair use doctrine.

***************

PS: I have looked at the comments and related pictures. This is most definitely the grove at the Memorial Drive split they are fighting to destroy.

Business as usual with the fake groups conning people in the City of Cambridge, MA, with its destructive, routinely lying government.

Cambridge City Council to consider nine month contract extension for Cambridge City Manager

1. Cambridge Day Reports.
2. Evaluation of the non signers, of the Cambridge City Manager, and of the Cambridge City Council.
3. The motion to be considered by the Cambridge City Council on Monday, March 19, 2012.


1. Cambridge Day Reports.

Cambridge Day reports, at http://www.cambridgeday.com/2012/03/17/councillors-seek-to-extend-city-managers-contract-while-they-plan-succession/ that the Cambridge City Council, Monday night, March 19, 2012, will consider a nine month extension for the contract of City Manager Robert Healy. This would extend his end date from September 30, 2012 to June 30, 2013.

The motion to work on a nine month extension is sponsored by seven members of the nine member body. Not included as sponsors are Councilor Craig Kelley and Councilor Kenneth Reeves.

2. Evaluation of the non signers, of the Cambridge City Manager, and of the Cambridge City Council.

The motion is posted below. I find the action troubling.

I find the form of the motions surprising. It comes as quite a surprise in its form inasmuch as this is worded as an exercise of a right by the Cambridge City Council. The seven are proposing simply to extend the contract and have worded the motion as their action with no need to concur by the Cambridge City Manager. They propose a nine month extension to phase him out.

A few weeks ago, I reported a motion by Councilor Kelley to initiate the process on the Cambridge City Manager’s contract with no comment on whether the council would extend it or not. Action on the Kelley motion was delayed a week by, I believe, Councilor Davis’ exercise of her right under the City Charter. That motion was automatically placed on file the following week because Kelley had to be out of state that night.

Kelley was the only member of the current Cambridge City Council who in last year’s election stated he would not vote to rehire the Cambridge City Manager.

Kelley has a public record in which he appears to be the only council member hostile to the Cambridge City Manager.

His position is very hard to compute based on his record with regard to the fake downzonings written by the City Manager’s people and fronted by the Machine. Kelley was very much an aggressive part of these outrages, an aggressive part of the Machine.

Lovely words. Lots of secret fine print which made the words very often so many lies.

Kelley’s record on these zoning outrages put to the lie his long standing claims of environmentalism.

Similarly, Kelley’s main stomping grounds are North Cambridge, which includes Alewife. Kelley has no publicly stated problems with the destruction of the core Alewife reservation for promises of flood protection which, in reality are lies, skillfully worded as usual, but lies. The people active in the North Cambridge group who look the most visible and who the most do not seem t want to know what they are doing certainly look like Kelley people.

Kelley’s indifference to the destruction of Alewife puts the lie to his long standing claims of environmentalism.

Kelley’s claims of hostility to the city manager are interesting. His long record of being part of the city manager’s environmental destruction make his claims of hostility to the city manager quite interesting.

As far as Reeves goes, Reeves is not quite as much of a problem as an “environmentalist” destroying the environment as part of the city manager’s people. Reeves just fits into the normal rottenness of the Cambridge political machine.

As far as the other seven city councilors go, they are extending in office a city manager who should be fired without golden parachute and possibly without pension.

I am very disappointed the Cambridge City Council does not adopt the positions of the Appeals Court panel and the Superior Court judge and jury on Monteiro. It seems very clear that all found it proven that City Manager Healy had committed reprehensible violations of Monteiro’s civil right in retaliation for Monteiro filing a civil rights complaint.

There is nothing complicated about the Monteiro case because it has gone to the Appeals Court with very strong affirmation of findings all over the place. A responsible city council would fire the Cambridge City Manager for cause and use the court decisions as indisputable support.

Cambridge, MA does not have a responsible city council.

3. The motion to be considered by the Cambridge City Council on Monday, March 19, 2012.

The motion reads:

WHEREAS: City Manager Robert Healy's current employment contract with the City of Cambridge expires on September 30, 2012; and WHEREAS: The contract contains a notification provision which needs action by the City Council or Mr. Healy on or before March 31, 2012; and

WHEREAS: As a result of Mr. Healy's long tenure as City Manager, the City of Cambridge has not undertaken a search for a new City Manager for over thirty years; and WHEREAS: It is imperative to the overall stability of the City of Cambridge that the City Council develop both a comprehensive short-term and long-term succession plan that will assist the City Council in their ongoing goal of providing fiscal stability and thoughtful strategic planning and any short-term plan should be in place before the FY 2014 budget process begins; now therefore be it

ORDERED: That the City Council amends the expiration date of the City Manager's current employment contract to June 30, 2013 which coincides with the fiscal FY 2013 year-end; and be it further ORDERED: That all other provisions of the employment contract remain unchanged; and be it further

ORDERED:

That the City Council's Government Operations and Rules Committee, with the assistance of the City Manager, begin the process of developing a comprehensive short-term and long-term succession plans. Such plans shall include timelines and outline opportunities for input from the community including residents, businesses, institutions and city staff. Once developed, such plans shall be presented to the full City Council for final consideration.

Listed sponsors are:

COUNCILLOR MAHER, COUNCILLOR CHEUNG, COUNCILLOR DECKER, VICE MAYOR SIMMONS, COUNCILLOR TOOMEY, MAYOR DAVIS, COUNCILLOR VANBEUZEKOM

This motion is posted at: http://www2.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/PolicyOrder.cfm?item_id=34502.

Photo of Muskrat from Charles River “Conservancy” - Sophisticated and Very Cynical Lying

The falsely named Charles River “Conservancy” posted on its facebook page on Thursday, March 15, 2012, a beautiful photo of a Muskrat in the Charles River near Watertown, MA.











Watertown is borderline. Part of Watertown is in that area of the Charles River whose environment and animals are being destroyed by the Charles River “Conservancy” acting as agent for Massachusetts’ Department of Conservation and Recreation and Cambridge, MA. Part is not.

This photo posting is an excellent example of the cynical tactics by which destructive entities lie about themselves, their environmental destruction and their heartless animal abuse.

The CRC is posting this photo and admiring this excellent animal. That gives the highly false impression that they are pro environment.

Animals are explicitly under attack on the Charles River basin by the DCR and the habitat destruction which the CRC specializes in directly attacks the animals of the Charles River. Over the past 10 years, it is impossible to say how many animals they have killed. It is clear that they have been deliberately starving the Charles River White Geese since 2004 by walling off Magazine Beach and the food there which these beautiful animals have had as their principal diet for most of the past 30 years.

The lie from the CRC also is a sophisticated lie about the destructive entities with whom they are so closely aligned, the DCR and Cambridge. Look at the photo of the muskrat. Don’t look at the heartless abuse at Magazine Beach and the destroyed nesting area. Don’t look at the acres of wanton destruction at Alewife and mass animal killing there.

Don’t look at the policy of the DCR being implemented over more than 12 years: kill off all resident animals on the Charles River Basin. Don’t look at the many other outrages.

Look at the lovely photo of the muskrat.

Do not look at the dishonestly by which an animal destructive organization lies about itself by showing this photo without mentioning its own very destructive reality.

Since the CRC started environmental destruction for the DCR, almost all ground vegetation has been destroyed between the BU Bridge and, to its east, the BU Boathouse. This is the ghetto to which the beautiful Charles River White Geese have been heartlessly consigned.

The photo was take by Carole Berney, wildlife photographer, and submitted to this falsely named group.

Please note that this photo is being reproduced without permission under the fair use doctrine.

Photos of Alewife before destruction and the parking lot where flood storage needs to go

I have reviewed the North Cambridge Stabilization Fund’s file on 160 CambridgePark Drive. This is the massive parking lot which, together with adjacent lots should be used for flood storage to protect neighbors.

Below is the developer’s plan for the project.












The photo that is the basis for the plan is a satellite photo which is now dated. The excellent woods where the words “Alewife Reservation” appear have been destroyed plus perhaps an additional area about as wide to the left. The waterway above is the northern boundary. Destruction does not seem to go quite to it. Photos of the destruction and the current view of the current parking lot / future building may be seen at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/cambridge-pols-destroy-alewife-photo.html.

The lie is that this is flood storage to protect neighbors. Close questioning discloses that the “flood storage” protects against the worst likely storm in any two year period (two year storm). There have been two fifty year storms in this area in the past twenty years. When the public finds out the lie, the poor dears will be “forced” to destroy what has not been destroyed, unless the flood storage is built south of CambridgePark Drive, the street below the destroyed Alewife reservation.

The structure shown in yellow just below CambridgePark Drive is the proposed building in what is now a massive parking lot directly across from access to what is now wasteland, formerly the Alewife reservation. The gray area to the right and dropping is the additional parking also owned by the prime developer. The street to the right of the parking lot is Alewife Brook parkway. Note that the parking lot gets wider proceeding to Alewife Brook Parkway.

Above CambridgePark Drive is a big white building with circular ramps left and right at the top. This is the Alewife Subway Station and garage.

Flood storage plans for the building shown in yellow may be obtained by reviewing the BCS Flood Report at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-ZbJdsEcId8bGg0RU8xYkJTNkc1RlRaMHNHajh3dw/edit?pli=1.

Their proposal looks like a smaller scale description of the flood control project that should be placed under the current project and under the parking lot to the right. You just build what they are building but larger, and you need a responsible city government.

RE: Alewife Update, key developer at North Cambridge Stabilization Committee.


1. Introductory.
2. McKinnon presentation.
A. Ownership.
B. Nature of Use.
C. Flood Protection.
3. The North Cambridge Stabilization Committee.
4. Summary.



1. Introductory.

Last night, March 14, 2012, I caught a further presentation by Richie McKinnon and his team concerning their project at Alewife. This is the project slated for the massive parking lot where flood storage should go for which Cambridge and the DCR claim they have destroyed the core Alewife reservation.

Their destruction will protect against the worst possible storm in two years (“two year storm”). Alewife has seen two instances of 50 years storms in the past 20 years. When the victims find out they have been lied to with promises that seem to be promising flood protection, the powers that be will be oh, so sorry. They will have to continue with destruction of this irreplaceable virgin woods and its animals.

Richie’s project and adjoining parking stretching along commuter rail line to Alewife Brook Parkway could readily provide the needed flood protection but it would be very much needed to have his project built above flood protection to do the job as well as possible.

Richie’s presentation was to a group named North Cambridge Stabilization Committee. I was either a founding member or an early member of this group, many years ago when I lived in North Cambridge.

Richie had spoken with them before concerning his plans and was providing further details.

Prior posts of value may be seen at:

Photos of destruction and McKinnon’s parking lot: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/cambridge-pols-destroy-alewife-photo.html.

My analysis of his project:
http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/alewife-richie-mckinnon-true.html.

I have not checked the quality of the collection but the NCSC people say that all the documents are posted at http://northcambridge.net/. Just click on 160/180 CambridgePark Drive.

2. McKinnon presentation.

A. Ownership.

McKinnon, very heavily for my benefit, went into detail concerning the parking lot ownership.

The parking lot where he is building is to be owned by him during construction. They already have a managing company / subsequent owner lined up to take it over when it is ready for occupancy.

This lot is the one that can be seen on the parking lot photo. The lot, however, is part of a package owned by the owner of two existing office buildings and the development is being coordinated with those buildings. That owner is the current owner of the lot where McKinnon is building and the parking lots between there and Alewife Brook Parkway.

I my prior report I stated that McKinnon could be the owner of everything. He is not. The other guy from whom he is buying is the owner of everything.

We had an almost tense moment when he explained that. I thanked him for correcting my understanding. The reality, however, is that the other owner who owns all the parking lots seems very clearly to be the important entity and that owner owns everything, subject to development plans.

Even if ownership is separated, having different owners on two parts of this massive parking lot which should be used for flood protection would be no big thing to a responsible city government.

B. Nature of Use.

There was extensive discussion of traffic problems associated with the existing development.

Residential uses create much less traffic problems. My interpretation of the discussion is that the big reason this is a residential project is to minimize traffic impact.

The building will have a shell of residential uses on the first floor facing CambridgePark Drive and the destroyed Alewife reservation. The rest of the first floor will be parking for cars and bicycles. The presenter had a good grasp on local bike highways.

They anticipate bikes will access Cambridge to the east through an underpass under Alewife Brook Parkway that is part of the Alewife Station Complex. That could be a good analysis, much better than trying to cross the heavily traveled Alewife Brook Parkway. But bicyclists, lawless or not, could readily cut over to Rindge Avenue across from CambridgePark Drive. It could be done legally as pedestrians. They could then go through the neighborhood that way.

C. Flood Protection.

Their engineer distinguished between two different types of protection from water impact. I still do not understand his distinction, but fortunately another person in the room followed up and got the key details out.

There is one kind of flood protection in two rectangular tanks on the commuter rail side of the project. There is also a massive flood gathering arrangement built under the parking.

These two items are crucial. These items should be greatly expanded to be part of a regional flood protection system, but this can only be done now as part of the construction of the building.

Corresponding flood protection can and should be put under the massive parking lot toward Alewife Brook Parkway which will be retained by the principal developer.

3. The North Cambridge Stabilization Committee.

This group is a breath of fresh air after dealing with the “Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association” and the Charles River “Conservancy.” The problem individuals are a much smaller number, but, even so, they are enough to dominate well meaning neighbors who mean well.

The interactions are an excellent example of how the Cambridge Machine works in a group with minimal but real connection.

The meeting was conducted by the number 2 member of the group. He claims to be a zoning expert. His zoning expertise seems to amount to going to the City Manager’s people and learning what is his opinion.

A second key Machine type is a “transportation expert” who is visible in the Machine groups pretty much uniformly to the extent the Machine groups are working on development issues. He always sounds great. He is always part of the resulting, bad effort.

In a public meeting presentation, he did, however, provide me with the key issue concerning the extremely irresponsible development of Alewife.

The “zoning expert” gave the usual pitch: You can’t win, you can’t win, but have I got a deal for you.

The deal amounted to chasing their tails at various meetings while Richie presents his plan to people working for / appointed by the Cambridge City Manager.

The idea of doing something meaningful like talking to the City Council was pooh poohed / ignored. The Machine maneuvers people away from the Cambridge City Council. The Cambridge City Council is the only people they should be dealing with because the Cambridge City Council should be taking underground rights in those parking lots including Richie’s for the flood storage the city needs, rather than massive destruction of the irreplaceable Alewife woodlands.

Also visible was a couple I know from when I lived in North Cambridge. Disclosure: I dated their daughter for awhile.

The woman in the couple has been very belligerent that they did what they could to prevent the outrage at Alewife. They sued city employees. Neither can meaningfully explain why, in the years they have been attempting to protect Alewife, they have not and will not talk with the Cambridge city council.

The Machine strongly discourages talking with the Cambridge City Council. You can’t win, but have we got a deal for you. Besides, suing city employees and ignoring the Cambridge City Council keeps people out of trouble from the point of view of the machine.

The reality is that there could be no knaves in this group. The knaves could just be the city employees / Cambridge machine members pulling the strings of a very tiny minority. It is really irrelevant whether we are talking knaves or otherwise. The problem people have long, bad records and, as usual, they present themselves as experts.

4. Summary.

I spoke with almost all the local people individually. I showed them my photos of Alewife as destroyed as of a month ago. I pointed them to this blog for further copies of those photos and gave them the standard FOWG informational flier that leads with Alewife on one side while devoting the full other side to the Charles River.

There are good people in this group. They are exactly the type of people I have worked with in so many major victories. I hope they can free themselves of the Cambridge Machine and put pressure where it belongs, on the Cambridge City Council.