A message from the publisher

22 Mar

Dear readers,

It has been a busy month for me with work travel, and the process of beginning my campaign for Ward 5 City Councilor, so I apologize for not posting very often lately.

As my campaign goes into high gear, it’s likely I will be posting less frequently, but I will also try to keep up with it the best that I can. Since starting this blog back in November, we’ve had almost 50,000 site visits, and I’m honored that so many people have found the content here interesting enough to visit.

Going forward my goal is to continue to bring you the best in hometown news and commentary. I just might not be able to post as often because of my personal time constraints.

But with that I’d like to offer all of our readers the opportunity to write and post as well. If you are a candidate who would like to get your message out, please feel free to submit a candidate statement.

But you do not have to be a candidate. I will consider submissions from everyone. All you need to do is email me at racroce@comcast.net, and I’ll consider it for publication. The only thing I can’t do in the main content area is use anonymously written content.

Thanks again for reading.

Sincerely.

Bob Croce, Publisher, Eye On Peabody

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Frasca hopes to bring experience, Peabody roots to job of Councilor At-Large

15 Mar

(If you are running for any office in Peabody in 2013,  please send us your statement, and we will post it here as written by you. Scott Frasca has pulled nomination papers to run for Councilor At-Large in this fall’s City Election.)

 Submitted by the Scott Frasca for Councilor At-Large Committee

Councilor At-Large candidate Scott Frasca and his sons

Councilor At-Large candidate Scott Frasca and his sons on the day he pulled papers to run for Councilor At-Large

Scott Frasca was educated in the Peabody school system from Kiley Elementary to Peabody High School. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Management from Salem State and worked hard to achieve a Master’s degree in Management from both Northeastern and Harvard University where he won the prestigious Derek Bok Public Service Prize. He also completed an executive education at the Kennedy School of Government in 2009.

Based on his strong Peabody roots, entrepreneurial background, and compassion for people, he created Making a Difference in Peabody Foundation in 2002 on the belief that there was a need to help Peabody residents with basic emergency needs such as oil, rent, electricity, clothing, housing items, and fire and flood relief.  The organization has fulfilled its mission and continues to assist hundreds of people a year.

 

He has been a business owner with a downtown office since 1997 and is the owner of Frascati Clothiers and Frasca Strategies and is involved with numerous other business ventures.  After he sold his first business in 2001 and immediately after the 9/11 attacks, he was on a waiting list to work for the FBI and worked the night shift for Homeland Security at a government base while developing a new business and charity during the day.

He then decided to work 4 years as a Budget Manager on the site integration phase of a new classified Missile Defense Agency contract while developing his business and charity part time. This defense system is currently deployed to protect the United States and its Allies from incoming missiles. Once this system was deployed, Scott decided to focus full time on developing his business and charity.

Scott serves in numerous community positions and is President and Founder of Animal Health Fund, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides funding to Peabody residents for preventative and emergency animal care. He is also a member of the Peabody Historical Society,  Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce, Harvard Club of North Shore, Celiac Disease Organization, and American Labrador Rescue.

He previously served in numerous community positions including Vice President of the Peabody Chamber of Commerce, President of the Library Board of Trustees, Higgins Middle School Council Member, Chairman of the Peabody Republican City Committee, member of the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, and American Cancer Society fundraiser.

Now, Scott wants to take his education, experience, and community service to a new challenge and serve Peabody as Councilor at Large.  He wants to be a voice for open space and beautification, an advocate for increased senior housing and services, and a strong voice to demand world class public schools in Peabody.  His business and management background will bring leadership and energy to help revitalize downtown, expand the economic base, and ensure that we have a strong public safety.

Please consider supporting Scott so that together we can make Peabody the best that it can be!

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City should hold firm on its decision to ban pot shops

14 Mar

By Bob Croce, EOP Publisher

Although the Attorney General yesterday ruled that cities and towns can’t enact outright bans on marijuana dispensaries, here’s hoping that our elected officials stand their ground on this one.

Due to its vagueness and lack of regulatory control, the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Law is a potential threat to public safety and quality of life.  Most, including myself,  aren’t against medical marijuana, but many people thought it would be dispensed through a qualified, well-regulated pharmacy, and not through fly-by-night pot shops that anyone can own and operate.

The Peabody City Council voted in January on a request from by Mayor Ted Bettencourt to fully ban medical marijuana facilities from any zoning district in the city. But AG Martha Coakley has ruled a similar ban in Wakefield illegal. Here’s a rundown on the latest details surrounding this issue in the Peabody Patch.

Will be interesting to see how this all plays out. But as we’ve written here before: some lawsuits are just worth fighting. Let’s hold our ground on this and every quality of life issue

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Mayor is right: Hiring of new Chiefs shouldn’t be determined only by test scores

12 Mar

By Bob Croce, EOP Publisher

Mayor Ted Bettencourt

Mayor Ted Bettencourt

When a community searches for a new police or fire chief, the process shouldn’t be hamstrung by a test that has a primary intent of keeping politics out of hiring.  Civil Service tests are a good thing when it comes to keeping the hiring of police officers and firefighters “honest.”

But it’s just too limiting of a tool for evaluating and hiring public safety chief executives.

This is why I support Mayor Ted Bettencourt in his request that a Civil Service test score no longer be the determining factor when it comes to Peabody hiring for these two critically important positions. The Mayor is asking the City Council to vote to remove both the police and fire chief positions from the jurisdiction of Civil Service.

Not worrying about how a candidate scores on a Civil Service test will help broaden the pool of potential candidates for the new Police Chief when current Chief Robert Champagne retires on June 1.

“My research has shown that the best process for the city is to take the (chiefs’) positions out of Civil Service,” the Mayor told the Peabody Patch.

And he’s right. Who the right person is for the job needs to be based on several criteria,  and to eliminate people simply because they didn’t get a Top 3 score on a Civil Service exam would be to eliminate some of the best candidates for a position that is essential when it comes to public safety.

Bettencourt says that he wouldn’t totally eliminate the test as criteria, but other criteria would carry as much, if not more weight, than the Civil Service score.

The Mayor’s request is likely headed for the Council’s Legal Affairs Committee. But the Council should act quickly here,  and I feel the councilors should approve this request so Peabody is assured of the best possible replacement when Chief Champagne leaves.

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Seeing the trees through the forrest, and catching up on other Peabody news

7 Mar

By Bob Croce, EOP Publisher

Catching up on some things today while taking a break from writing about the state rep special election.

Capital punishement for Peabody trees?

Capital punishement for Peabody trees?

Turns out that Massachusetts’ ban on capital punishment doesn’t extend to trees.

Jennifer Pinkham Davis, Peabody’s Director of Parks and Recreation, recently told the City Council’s sub-committee on Legal Affairs that — under state law — any citizen can have trees on city property cut down at any time and at taxpayer expense.

Davis says that, if a citizen asks for a tree to be cut down, the city must go out, examine the tree and determine if it’s a danger to the public. In some cases, the roots of these trees make sidewalks impassable, and potentially dangerous. But it doesn’t stop there: Davis says that, if the city determines the tree is healthy and no danger to public safety, citizens can still petition and have it removed. And most times, the citizen wins.

But here’s the rub: Many times completely healthy trees that pose no danger to the public are cut down, and it can cost the taxpayers up to $8,000 per tree.  And … sometimes the resident’s reason for cutting down the tree can as frivolous as “the leaves are making a mess on my lawn.”

To stop this process, Davis is hoping the City Council can create an ordinance that would send that $8,000 bill to the person demanding the destruction of a healthy tree.

Stay tuned.

Peabody Police: Alert on a utility scam

ppdThe Eye is running the following alert from the Peabody Police:

This is a regeneration of an alert sent 02/21/2013 regarding National Grid. PMLP has received customer reports that they are now calling alleging to be from PMLP.

They tell the customer that their account is delinquent and to avoid power shut off they must pay now via credit card. They then use the credit card data to make fraudulent purchases. If you get a call from someone stating they are from PMLP collections, report it to PMLP and the Peabody Police Department. PMLP does not collect over the phone nor threaten shut off in this manner. If you can capture the originating phone call on caller ID please report the number.

Free parking for veterans coming to Peabody?

Postal worker Daniel Heafey has asked the City Council’s Legal Affairs Sub-Committee to pass an ordinance that would provide free parking for veterans in Peabody.

Heafey, a Cold War veteran (1974 to 1978), who blames some hearing loss and a bad knee to some tough work as a military police officer, said he was parking downtown recently and was troubled when he could only park for 15 minutes after putting a nickel in the meter.

“I put a nickel in the meter,” Heafey said. “I was gone for 15 minutes, and I got a ticket.”

No details yet on how the city would enforce this possible new ordinance.

 Tickets still available for St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast & Roast

Ttickets remain for the City of Peabody’s First Annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast and Roast,  which will take place on Saturday morning March 16th from 9:00 to 11:00AM in the Frank L. Wiggin Auditorium at Peabody City Hall.

“We have gotten a terrific response for this first St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast and Roast,” said Mayor Ted Bettencourt, “Judging by the demand for tickets, this event is destined to become a longstanding Peabody tradition.”

The public is welcome to attend the breakfast, which will feature Irish music by “McGeney and Moore” and good natured roasting of some of the city’s best known politicos. The cost is $30 per person and all proceeds benefit the Haven from Hunger. Tickets must be reserved in advance as there will be no tickets sold at the door to the event.

Those interested in attending the breakfast should contact Mary Bellavance at 978.538.5704.

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Changes to our commenting policy

6 Mar

Dear readers,

In an effort to keep this forum constructive, I’ve decided that going forward all comments will be moderated and approved. I promise I’ll get to approving them soon as I can, but please be patient if you are commenting during the work day or late in the evening.

I have also, in an effort to keep things more credible here, deleted some of the comments I felt were over the line. We put this forum here as a place to inform and discuss the issues of the day related to Peabody. I am not going to allow it to become a slamfest.

Thanks for reading.

Bob Croce

‘Make The Call’ show invites State Rep primary candidates to address voters

6 Mar

By Eye On Peabody

Please join your hosts Dick Jarvis and Bob Croce tonight, 8-9 p.m., on PAT Channel 99 when they invite the candidates from yesterday’s primaries for Peabody  State Rep. on the “You Make the Call” show.

Dick and Bob have invited Democratic Primary winner Beverley Griffin Dunne, Republican Primary winner Leah Cole, and Republican Primary runner up Greg Bunn to come on and address the voters of Peabody about yesterday’s results.

On our next show, we will invite back Dunne and Cole, as well as unenrolled candidate David Gravel in advance of the final election on April 2nd.

For now, though, please tune in and ask questions of the candidates. Each will be individually given 10-15 minutes to address the voters and answer questions from our co-hosts and the callers.

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Cole edges Bunn in State Rep Republican primary

5 Mar

By Bob Croce, EOP Publisher

On day when just 6% of Peabody voters turned out at the polls, Leah Cole topped Greg Bunn 512-460 to win the Republican nomination in today’s primary for State Rep in the 12th Essex District.

In what was a record low turnout for a Peabody election, Peabody School Committee member Beverley Griffin Dunne also advanced to the final ballot as the Democratic nomineee. Dunne did not have a primary opponent, but she also ended up with more votes than Cole.

Cole, Dunne, and unenrolled candidate David Gravel will faceoff in the final election on April 2nd.

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In their own words: Hear from the candidates for state rep before you vote

5 Mar

By Eye on Peabody

If you haven’t yet voted in today’s Primary for the Special Election for Peabody State Rep in the 12th Essex District,  and are still undecided, check out these videos in the Peabody Patch. They are from a recent appearance by each candidate at the Brooksby Village candidates forum.

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State Rep Primary Election Day is upon us: Get out and vote today

4 Mar
Beverley Dunne

Beverley Dunne

Leah Cole

Leah Cole

Greg Bunn

Greg Bunn

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you already voted today, please use the comments section to tell us who you voted for, why, and what was the scene/turnout like at your polling place.

By Bob Croce, EOP Publisher

Today is Election Day in Peabody for those who live in Wards 1-4, and in Ward 5 Precincts 1 and 3. Three candidates are on the ballot in a primary for State Representative.

There is a contested primary on the Republican side, where Greg Bunn will face off against Leah Cole.  On the Democratic side, Beverley Griffin Dunne will appear on the ballot, but is unopposed. If you are not enrolled in either the Republican or Democratic Party, you are eligible tomorrow to choose either party’s ballot.

Either Bunn or Cole, and Dunne will faceoff April 2nd against unenrolled candidate David Gravel on final election ballot in this race to fill the seat left open in the 12th Essex District following the death of Joyce Spilliotis last November.

Polls are open  from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Here are some more details in the Peabody Patch.

VOTE!

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