Tom Magner
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The Basics
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Comments
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On the article School Building Project Makes Progress
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On the article Should SSBC Reconsider Building Softball Field at New High School?
Tom Magner
2:34 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
ReplyAn important point- the field proposed for campus is NOT big enough to be a regulation baseball field. It will be a practice field only. It is, however, big enough to be a regulation softball field.
I don't think any of us are advocating that a field be "taken" from baseball, but, with the new school project, now is the time to right a wrong at the least possible expense to taxpayers. Put the varsity softball field at the HS and reshuffle all the other fields in town to make it equitable. If some teams are playing at the HS and some teams (JV, Frosh) are to play at the elementary schools, it should affect both genders equally.
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On the Blog Post Transcript in Error with Editor's Note
Tom Magner
12:08 pm on Monday, March 18, 2013
You do understand the distinction between the actual override questions and a newspaper article about the override questions, right? Here is the text of the actual Newton questions as they appeared on the ballot. As you can see, only Question 1, the OPERATIONAL override, included a specific dollar amount.
City of Newton- March 12, 2013
Question 1-
Shall the City of Newton be allowed to assess an additional $8,400,000 in
real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding
municipal and school operating and capital expenses to support increased
student enrollment, fund street and sidewalk paving, fund public safety
personnel, address the condition and capacity of Zervas Elementary School,
fund the relocation of the Fire Department Wires Division, and fund the
replacement of Fire Headquarters and Fire Station 3 in Newton Centre for
the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013?Question 2-
Shall the City of Newton be allowed to exempt from the provisions of
Proposition two and one-half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the
bonds issued in order to renovate or replace the A. E. Angier Elementary
School?Question 3-
Shall the City of Newton be allowed to exempt from the provisions of
Proposition two and one-half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the
bonds issued in order to renovate or replace the Cabot Elementary School? -
On the Blog Post Are You Serious?
Tom Magner
1:50 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
ReplyYou're right- they can't be serious. The Washington Times continues to use "hybrid" and "electric" interchangeably, because it fits their agenda, but they are actually quite different.
Uchiyamada was talking about electric plug-ins, not hybrids, so this would have no effect on the Prius, which was, at one point last year, the 3rd best-selling car in the world.
And Toyota and Nissan are separate companies, so despite what the Washington Times says, the "Father of the Prius" isn't the Vice-Chairman of Nissan. You can tell which news outlets just cut-and-paste propaganda when you see blatant mistakes like that repeated.
Otherwise, fun article Mel.
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On the article North Reading Trash Program Reduces Barrel Limit
Tom Magner
1:05 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
Reply"we do not need any more big goverment telling us what to do"
The irony of this statement is too fantastic.
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On the Blog Post SSBC's Architect's Performance
Tom Magner
4:39 pm on Friday, January 25, 2013
ReplyMr. Canney- I respectfully suggest you step away from the keyboard and attend one of the meetings and ask these questions, in person. Mr. Turosz does a good job covering town issues, but no newspaper article can properly capture every discussion that has occurred at these various public meetings- meetings which you've said you have not attended.
Clearly mistakes have been made, but this project is moving forward whether you like it or not. That's what 79% of the voters, what you've called "special interests," wanted. You can't suddenly put the trees back and undo the work that has already been done, so the question is, where do we go from here? How do we do this right- for both the students and abutters- at the best value to the taxpayers?
Accusing the Selectmen of meeting in executive session simply to hide embarrassing info or accusing Mr. Webster of intentionally misleading people is irresponsible and unproductive.
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On the article NRHS Reported to Be In Violation of Title IX On Softball
Tom Magner
8:53 am on Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The lack of an ice rink affects the boys and girls equally. One team playing on campus, on an irrigated field, with batting cages, locker rooms and bathrooms with running water, while the other team has to drive to an elementary school with none of the above facilities is not equitable. That is the distinction.
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On the article NRHS Reported to Be In Violation of Title IX On Softball
Tom Magner
12:54 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
The lack of an ice rink affects the girls and boys equally, while the baseball/softball field situation clearly benefits one gender over the other. THAT is the distinction.
If the boys were also playing at a nearby elementary school, with no bathroom or locker facilities and no running water, then this would not be an issue.
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On the article NRHS Reported to Be In Violation of Title IX On Softball
Tom Magner
5:44 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013
ReplyThe softball field is at the Little Elementary School, about 3 miles away.
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On the article North Reading SSBC Plans Special Election and Town Meeting for School Building Project
Tom Magner
10:52 am on Thursday, January 17, 2013
NR spending per pupil is about $2K below the state average and in the bottom quarter of the state. Our test scores are regularly among the top quarter. I'd say that's a pretty good return on investment.
Tom Magner
1:09 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013
It's not a lawsuit, it's a bid protest, which is actually quite common in public construction. A losing bidder feels the low bid is not realistic, so they file a protest and there's a hearing to determine if that's true. If the protest is upheld, we may take the 2nd bid or have to rebid it, in which case the bid number will likely go up, but the guaranteed maximum price that we voted on earlier this year already includes a contingency to cover such scenarios.
So, yes, technically we do have "more money than needed." That's what a contingency is. If everything goes perfectly smoothly the town will have money left over.