What do we value in Longmeadow?

At its last meeting I delivered a letter and spoke to the Select Board about the incident involving the confiscation of political signs from the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee booth at this year's "Long Meddowe Days" event. The details of that incident were spelled out in a previous LongmeadowBuzz post.

A recent New York Times Editorial also sounds a similar alarm. Amazingly, as I was reading this editorial, I opened a fortune cookie. The fortune read; "Think of the danger while things are going smoothly."

The text of my letter follows:

Dear Chairman Santaniello:

I would like to alert the Select Board to the fact that concerned citizens will be coming forward in the next few days to request a full investigation of the incident of May 17, 2008 involving the confiscation of political signs on the green during Long Meddowe Days. I am supportive of that effort. A community-wide discussion of this incident, initiated and facilitated by the Select Board would provide valuable information and education to town residents.

The Select Board should review the relevant town by-laws to determine if political speech is receiving adequate protection. In particular, by-law 6-314, which was used to justify the suppression of political speech on May 17, 2008, needs to be clarified. In all likelihood, a new by-law that explicitly prevents political speech suppression should be considered. In addition, the Select Board should fully investigate the nature of the relationship between the town and the Long Meddowe Days Committee (and/or its parent organization, the Historical Society) and make the details of that relationship known to the whole community.

While no one believes that the Long Meddowe Days committee knowingly contributed to the suppression of constitutionally protected speech, the fact that they did so unintentionally is still a serious problem meriting a coordinated community response.

The regulation of political speech on a town green is a very significant issue and should not be made light of, or swept under the rug. Directly at issue is the question of when and how constitutionally protected speech can be regulated in a public space. The fact that this incident occurred on the town green, a space created explicitly for political speech, reveals how important it is to clarify the town’s policies and to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Please give this issue very serious and very public attention.

While this issue will not impact your property taxes or water and sewer bills, it is nonetheless a matter of great importance to our lives as individual Americans and as members of this community. The suppression of political speech on the Green over the Memorial Day weekend could be the plot of a Twilight Zone episode. Please don't under estimate the implications of this incident. At a bare minimum, it makes very clear the need for Longmeadow residents to come together as a community and reflect on the proper place of politics at community events. The confiscated signs were not controversial; they were candidate lawn signs meant to attract fair goers to the booth to chat with the people volunteering their time to run for public office.

Memorial Day is a day to remember the selfless public service of American military men and women who lost their lives standing up for our democratic institutions. Sincerely believing that it is okay, nay appropriate, to honor this sacrifice on one part of the Green, while dishonoring it on another, is no trivial matter.

Every citizen of Longmeadow ought to be eager to see and hear this matter explained and resolved. We need to at least take as much interest in this principled matter as we do in those matters related to our economic interests. If the trappings of free and fair democratic elections are prohibited on the Longmeadow Green over Memorial Day weekend, while at the same time on the same Green our town's official ceremony to honor America's fallen warriors is conducted amidst dozens of commercial signs and billboards, then I don't think it's a stretch to say that our priorities and principles could use some community-wide attention.

I hope everyone in Longmeadow will join this very important conversation.

Energy On the Agenda Tonight

If you've got a body, you can have a role as an audience member for about 15 minutes at the next Select Board meeting on July 21 at 7:55-8:10 pm (in the Police Dept. Community Room).

CONTEXT:
Longmeadow was one of the first communities in our region to have a task force in place to examine ways to save our town money by conserving energy and reduce our overall need for energy.

This group (the Renewable Energy Task Force, or RETF) served at the direction of the Town Manager. It was scheduled to give a status report highlighting some possible projects & cost savings our town could choose. Their 3-page executive summary is below.

At the next Select Board meeting, this group will request that the Select Board create a standing Commission so that their hard work can continue.

PROBLEM:

The reason WHY the RETF needs to be formed as a standing committee is because the Town Manager has found it necessary to disband the energy task force.

-Longmeadow still does not have renewable energy systems in place.

-We still can save money.

-The Commonwealth's new Green Communities Act is a source of funds for communities that are proactive in this area.

-Even the Select Board themselves "directed the Town to develop a local action plan for sustainability in conformance with ICLEI’s Cites for Climate Protection Campaign and this responsibility was added to the RETF."

ACTION:

Please join me in sitting in on the audience (if you wish you can speak at the public comment time at the start of the meeting, 7pm). All you need to do is show up, so that the Renewable Energy Task Force can point to your support as additional justification for continuing their efforts.

If you are unable to come to the meeting, please email your support to townhall@longmeadow.org &/or contact a Select Board member directly:

Paul P. Santaniello (2009) Chair Person
Robert Barkett, (2011) Vice-Chair Person
William G. Scibelli (2010) Clerk
Kathleen E. Grady (2009) Member
Brian M. Ashe (2010) Member

Thanks for your consideration of this effort. With the rising prices for oil and gas, our town would be incredibly short-sighted to disband the renewable energy task force.

TO: Robin Crosbie, Town Manager

The Town of Longmeadow Select Board

FROM: Renewable Energy Task Force (RETF)

RE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY STATUS REPORT

DATE: July 21, 2008

Convening History and Purpose:

Charge: In May of 2007, Robin Crosbie, Town Manager, convened a task force to study and recommend options for renewable energy use for the town that would help the town reduce its reliance of non-renewable energy sources such as oil and gas and improve economic efficiencies for the town.

In November of 2007, the Select Board directed the Town to develop a local action plan for sustainability in conformance with ICLEI’s Cites for Climate Protection Campaign and this responsibility was added to the RETF.

REVIEW OF CURRENT WORK:

RETF focused its initial work on energy conservation and the study of existing renewable energy sources, with energy conversation opportunities given top priority. RETF determined that the most practical renewable energy source for Longmeadow is the solar panel/photovoltaic source. Because there is extremely limited wind source in the Pioneer Valley, the use of wind power is not appropriate. During this past year, RETF has begun work on four distinct projects that will have the immediate result of conserving energy and demonstrating the use of solar power for energy needs. Listed on the next page is an overview of these four projects; including anticipated costs and savings and, where appropriate, rebate information.

RETF RATIONAL FOR PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS:

The field of energy conservation and renewable energy is one that is in current flux. By that it is meant that as of today there are new technologies available to help with conservation and implementation of non-fossil fuel energy sources. The field is one where both policy and research are creating changes in real time. The challenge for any municipality is to find the current best practices and make reasoned decisions for its residents and businesses, all the while recognizing that these cannot be static decisions; they must be re-evaluated at different points in time to make sure that changes capture best practices as the field evolves.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TOWN MANAGER AND SELECT BOARD:

1) The four projects listed on the next page are recommended by the RETF for the town’s benefit. Taken as a whole, they begin to help the town realize significant reductions in energy use and save dollars and improve efficiencies.

Note: The work on the local action plan for sustainability is just beginning.

2) The RETF has been working for approximately one year now. In a relatively short period of time it is clear that it has begun finding ways for Longmeadow to save significant dollars through energy conservation. At this point, to continue its work, to help build more public awareness and gain community support, and to be ready to benefit from the new Green Communities Act (S.2768) in which municipalities will be able to receive financial assistance for energy conservation for its work, the RETF is requesting that the Select Board formally the acknowledge the importance of this work and create and an Energy Commission that will be opened to the public for greater participation and allow the current RETF members to continue their work on behalf of Longmeadow.

Projects include:
TRAFFIC LIGHT LED CONVERSION
Install LED bulbs in all traffic lights in town .

INSULATION OF HIGH SCHOOL NATATORIUM
Insulation of exposed walls of high school swimming pool.

TOWN STREET LIGHTS: PURCHASE
The town currently rents the street lights from WMECO. George Woodbury has been hired as a consultant to create a complete inventory and map all existing street lights, with the goal of determining their condition and appraisal for purchase so that Longmeadow reduces its monthly utility costs and assumes responsibility for maintenance.

SOLAR POWER DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
Installation of 10 kilowatt solar/photovoltaic (PC) array on Glenbrook Middle School Roof: This project shall serve (3) purposes:

(1): Develop experience with solar renewable energy;
(2): Demonstrate to both students and residents the manner in which this type of energy source works to help further knowledge of science and technology. Project includes a web-based monitoring system for continual data accessibility.
(3): provide electric power to supplement the needs of the middle school.

Wild Reads At Your Library

It's been a wild time at the Storrs Library; click here to see slides. If you haven't already, there is still time to visit the Storrs Library and join our reading program. This statewide reading program promotes the value and fun of reading for ALL ages. The Wild Reads weekly raffle occurs at 2:30 p.m. every Friday. Adult raffle winners choose from a selection of prizes. The final program for the Adult Wild Reads is the History of Mountain Park lecture, scheduled for August 13th. Everyone attending will receive an additional raffle ticket.

Visit the library for your health!

Every day, all around the country, some of you approach library reference desks with health-related reference questions. Those of you who don't come to libraries often use magazines, TV or the Internet to research health matters. Some of the information you find on your own may be reliable and up to date; however, some can be positively unhealthy! How to tell the good from the bad? Perhaps it might be useful to share with you guidelines librarians follow when we evaluate health-related materials for our print or online collections. What is the source? If it is print , who is the author, publisher, editor, or editorial board? If it is electronic, who has put the information together or who is running the site? Is it a branch of government, a university, a health organization, a hospital? How thorough is the coverage? How current is the information? Is it updated frequently?

On a recent visit to MedlinePlus, the website of the National Library of Medicine, I came across a short online tutorial on evaluating Internet health resources. It runs for about 15 minutes and I would like to recommend it to anyone considering health-related research on the Web.

For those of you who visit Storrs Library on a regular basis, may I suggest the new 4th edition of Magill's Medical Guide, generously donated to the library by the Friends of Storrs Library. This 5-volume print resource has received high praise from every major reference reviewer for its depth and accessibility. Its 3,026 pages, full of illustrations, sidebars and graphs, expertly bridges the gap between a medical encyclopedia for the professional and popular self-help guides. The Guide includes an "In the News" section that both informs and provides users with a critical view of popular reports. Also noteworthy is the addition of a list of "Symptoms and Warning Signs" and a "Pharmaceutical List" surveying brand-name and generic drugs. But, perhaps, the most remarkable feature of Magill's Medical Guide is the online database that accompanies it. All of the content is available 24/7 to patrons with a Storrs Library card!

I hope that this information is useful. Please don't hesitate to visit us in person or online at www.longmeadow.org/library.
Farida Pomerantz/Reference

Longmeadow High School Summer Reading

Don't wait til the end of the summer rush to request your Longmeadow High School summer reading book. Link to the Storrs Library catalog to locate a copy of the title of your choice. You can then place a request for the book to be delivered to the Storrs Library or visit a nearby library to check the book out directly using your Longmeadow library card. For additional assistance stop by the Storrs Library Reference Desk.

Fiction List
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- Smith
The Hobbit-J.R.R. Tolkein
Cat’s Cradle-Kurt Vonnegut
The Five People You Meet in Heaven-Albom
Call of the Wild- London
A Lesson Before Dying-Gaines
Bee Season-Goldberg
The Red Pony-Steinbeck
The Alchemist-Paul Coelho
The Secret Life of Bees- Monk Kidd
The Joy Luck Club- Tan
Franny and Zooey-Salinger
This Side of Paradise-Fitzgerald
A Thousand Splendid Suns-Hosseini
Little Big Man-Berger
A Farewell to Arms-Hemingway
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest-Kesey
Silas Marner-Eliot
Bel Canto-Patchett
The Age of Innocence-Wharton
The Grapes of Wrath-Steinbeck
The Return of the Native-Hardy
Sense and Sensibility-Austen
Lonesome Dove-McMurtry
Native Son-Wright
Catch 22-Heller
The Poisonwood Bible-Kingsolver
Nonfiction List
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail- Bryson
Death Be Not Proud-Gunther
The Right Stuff-Wolfe
The Color of Water-McBride
The Road From Coorain-KerConway
Travels With Charley-Steinbeck
Up From Slavery-Washington
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek-Dillard
Blink-Gladwell
Lost in Place-Salzman
The Glass Castle-Walls
Tuesdays With Morrie-Albom

Honors or AP English students: additional book as follows:
Grade 9 The Once and Future King- T.H. White
Grade 10 My Antonia-Willa Cather
Grade 11 Pride and Prejudice-Jane Austen
AP English A Prayer for Owen Meany- John Irving

Put Up Your Duqs With Jerold Duquette

There is a new bi-weekly TV show called Put Up Your Duqs on Longmeadow Community TV.

It is hosted by Jerold Duquette- the once controversial School Committee member, now prime time political commentator on LCTV.

The first airing on LCTV is Monday, June 30 at 6:30 PM (with a replay on Wednesday, July 2 at 6:30 PM).

If you prefer watching the show at your convenience and have high speed Internet, I would recommend the Web broadcast which is already available on the Put Up Your Duqs blog. The quality is quite good.

I've watched the first episode and found the show to be quite entertaining and educational. Professor Duquette and his new TV/ Internet venue promises to open much needed dialog in our town. There are plans to invite a local guest every week to discuss important issues of the day. I suspect that this show will become very popular and greatly increase the TV ratings of LCTV.

Check it out....

P.S. While his invited guest this week did have much to say, he was the hit of the show!

Storrs Library, old but also new!

It is hard to believe that the addition to Storrs Library is already more than 16 years old!! Those of us who were here at that time remember how cutting-edge the design seemed, featuring a centralized circulation desk, a separate Reference Desk, areas for computerized catalogs, a children’s room on the main level and an elevator to the second floor.
Little did we imagine that sixteen years later, we would have seven public access catalogs, eleven Internet stations, plus wireless capacity throughout the building. Our fiction and nonfiction collections have continued to grow, adding new titles to those already on the shelves and creating a depth and range difficult to find in bookstores oriented to stocking only the latest publications. In 1997, five years after the opening of our addition, we timidly launched our first web presence at http://www.longmeadow.org. Back then we had a few sections—a very basic computerized catalog, sections on library history and policies and a Web gateway with some favorite links. Eleven years later, how things have changed! We are now at www.longmeadow.org/library with a newly designed enhanced library catalog. With a Storrs Library card not only can you search Longmeadow’s holdings from home, expand your search to all Massachusetts libraries and place online requests, but you can read summaries and reviews of most titles right from the catalog. High-quality reference databases include searchable, general interest periodicals, full-text, peer-reviewed academic and professional journals and newspaper backfiles such as the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the Springfield Republican. The website provides access to full-length downloadable videos, like the Globe Trekker videos and hundreds of audiobooks that can be downloaded and played on portable devices. One of the databases, Academic Onefile, has free downloadable podcasts from NPR and the New England Journal of Medicine. Issues and Controversies and Issues and Controversies in American History contain excellent resources for students working on contemporary issues, while Science Online provides support to the middle and high school science curricula.

I am delighted to have been invited to participate in Longmeadow Buzz. Be on the lookout for news from the Library and in the meantime, don’t forget to visit at 693 Longmeadow Street or at www.longmeadow.org/library. Farida Pomerantz/Reference

Wild Reads at the Library

Wild Things are happening at the Storrs Library this summer. The summer reading program, part of the statewide Reads In Massachusetts program, offers kids, teens and adults the opportunity to explore the joy of reading. Parents who participate will show their children that reading is fun for everyone. The program runs from June 23 through August 8, 2008. Readers can join anytime during the program. For more information stop by the Library or visit us online.

Just when you thought it was safe to watch LCTV...

Put Up Your Duqs!

Political talk that's not for the faint of heart.

30 minutes of Jerold Duquette, no censors, no rules, no standards of decency.

Tune into the premiere on June 30th at 6:30pm, right before the Longmeadow Select Board meeting. My commentary will relate to a previous LongmeadowBuzz post from Tuesday, June 10th, regarding free speech in Longmeadow (see below).

If you miss the show on LCTV, don't despair. It will be available 24/7 at www.jeroldduquette.org. The first episode is NOW AVAILABLE to view online. Click HERE to watch.

Analysis of election returns - 10 June 2008

Here is my brief and partial examination of the election returns for School Committee in the 10 June 2008 Longmeadow Election.

School Committee


Precinct A B C D E Total

Weigand 177 169 123 180 144 793 Second

Bruns 201 170 100 140 126 737 Third

Fitzgerald 202 171 129 161 138 801 First

Kiernan 97 65 55 142 70 429 Sixth

Sweeney 92 70 83 116 80 441 Fifth

Wray 133 153 121 160 94 661 Fourth

Blanks 164 204 137 199 157 861

Write-ins 2 2 1 5

Totals 1068 1002 750 1098 810 4728 Note: 3 ballots per voter. 3 x 1576 = 4728

Total number of voters was 1576. Turn out = 13.89% 11,349 voters were eligible.

Fitzgerald - First in A, B and C. Second in D and E. 50.8%
Weigand - First in D and E. Second in C. Third in A and B. 50.3%
Bruns - Second in A and B. Third in E. Fourth in C and Fifth in D. 46.8%
Wray - Third in C and D. Fourth in A and B and E. 41.9%


Voters A B C D E Total
356 334 250 366 270 1576

Fitzgerald
% by Pct. A56.7% B51.2% C51.6% D44.0% E51.1%

Thank you to all the voters who participated, and a thank you to all the candidates who competed.

Comments invited.

Regards,
John J. Fitzgerald