It all boils down to the parents. There is a direct relation between kids performing well in school and parents putting in the effort with their kids.
Schools like St. Dom's, Vineyard, CMCA tend to have enrollment where folks have like-minded beliefs/goals. The test scores rate about the same as a good public school.
How much effort, as the parent, are you willing to put into your child's education? Are you willing to do flash cards, work on their reading, making sure homework is done properly, asking them about their school day, chatting up their teachers more often then a yearly conference to make sure they're on track for their grade level... if you are, your child will perform better in school.
If they're only putting 6-8 vendors on a page... and there is 13 years worth of vendors.... doesn't 536 pages appear to be kind of a short list?
Between the Portland democratic machine using operatives to libel/slander Cutler and the Lepage/Poliquin follies of recent, many dangerous political precedents have been set during the last 18 months.
We, as Mainers, should be worried that "scorched earth tactics" are now becoming commonplace with elections, state government politics, and agency management. There's never really been anything like this in Maine politics that I can remember. Can you?
Check out current rates chart, L/A 'pike users are stuck paying a very (unfairly) slanted rate. I hope they get it right, but historically they're not trending towards the right direction.
Dem/GOP shouldn't matter on this one. If you live in L/A, give MTA and the folks in Augusta an earful. We (L/A residents) should not be picking up the tab for Portland and Southern Maine 'pike users.
They lobbed you a softball and the best you could do was some lame three little pigs line?
The appointment seems more like a classic "thank you" from ol' Gov for her extended family (Crafts) backing him during the election campaign. Very disappointing the SJ failed take the extra step and connect the dots. If you look up the ME Finance commission reporting, their family gave ALOT to his campaign.
It seems lately, Lewiston city management will do anything to save a buck. They wait until the snow storms are half over before putting sand/salt or plows on the road. Waiting until the day after xmas to announce they're not picking up trees is par for the course.
Granted this special election may not have cost more than a few hundred dollars, but I must admit I do not see the logic in your comment. Did "we" win because there wasn't another special runoff? Did we prevail when the "winner" of this election displayed a "YouTube" worthy meltdown in front of a throng of media outlets?
I honestly believed Mr. MacDonald couldn't be worse than self-promoting, factually challenged, current mayor of Lewiston. After seeing him "perform" on TV via the candidate forum, reading his quotes printed in the local newspapers, and watching his meltdown on the 5am news - I'm concerned the incoming mayor is factually challenged and acts as if he has some personal score to settle.
Lewiston does not need another "moonbeam" whose actions and constant sabre rattling required the services of our contracted city attorney to constantly intercede before matters reached critical mass.
I hope I'm wrong. For the sake of my tax bill, I really hope I'm wrong.
The guy has a right to be pissed about the "rumor mongering".
I just hope he is less factually challenged than Moonbeam. So far, his demeanor and willingness to not let facts get in the way of his arguements have not impressed.
The "new" policy of waiting, and waiting.... and waiting before the crews go on the roads sucks. There were no less than three cars stuck on my street that required several of the neighbors and good samaritans to pull, push, tow, and shovel to get them out. The snow stopped flying at 10am. It took until 3:15pm for a plow to come down our street. Over 5 hours from the time the storm passed to seeing a plow. Unacceptable. Once the plows did manage to come down our street, they were paired up; making FIVE passes on each side of the road.
I expect three things from my city (and its employees):
(1) safety
(2) trash picked up
(3) safe, passable streets during and after storms
Moonbeam and the city council failed miserably on two of three.
LAusbca website lists kids between ages 4-18 who bowl on Saturday mornings. From the looks of things, there appears to be 50ish kids who attend. Toss in parents, I'd bet you'd have close to 100 people coming and going for youth bowling between 8:30am-noon on a given Saturday.
You could have taken the time to google/bing Lewiston Auburn Youth Bowling. Then again, you could have taken time to think through your comment.
This may well be one of the most bone-headed comments I've seen in a long time. Seriously? Stealing Jobs?
I voted no for two reasons. 1) The message: "It's our turn" This is the same as my four year old wanting a toy because the other kids at pre-k got one. Just because they got one doesn't mean you deserve one. Make a point with facts and concrete answers.....2) The plan: There was none. At least none that I could discern from the constant incoherent droning every time they were asked questions. Every question was always answered with some obtuse, nebulous phrase or innuendo towards a share of some pie in the sky. What type of jobs? Revenue projections? Good luck, those answers were always delivered in the form of ifs and buts.
What really stuns me is/was the childish response from Moonbeam (yes you Mr. Gilbert!). Was it really necessary for the near tantrum? The message being offered by "Yes" to the voting public stunk. The plan being presented to the voters stunk. The delivery stunk. You want to win over the voting public? Deliver your message in clear, concise, easy to understand answers. Give them a rallying point worthy of remembering. What's our plan? Here's a PDF/Document laying out our mission statement, goals, milestones, and means to accomplish said goals/milestones. If nothing else, a little project management 101 could have gone a long way.
Can the state of Maine support five casino operations? Who knows. If they'd had any sense of a concrete plan, message... I'd have voted yes and let the market determine whether five could survive.
Seems like an awful lot of posts, in the last few days, to validate your position Mr. Hobbs.
I'm all for jobs, but who in L/A or Maine is qualified to be a manager, slot mechanic, security operative, etc.. at a casino? If you're all about lower tier jobs (servers, custodial crew, etc) then maybe this is the way to go. They're going to need people from away to fill these higher tier positions until people are trained up. How long does it take to train up someone to be qualified for the next level of positions?
Personally, I don't care if it fails or passes. My concerns lay with the numbers being presented seem, I guess, hypothetical at best and the promises of everyone sharing in the pot of riches.
Maybe I'm off-base, maybe I'm just too skeptical based on the prior history of some associated with the campaign. *shrug*
The state committee for School Construction/Infrastructure held a hearing/meeting on 9/7 to discuss where the cutoff was going to be for the 2011 need list. Martel is #8 and Longley wasn't much further down on the list. There are no meeting minutes posted from the 9/7. Maybe you'd have an update?
Shame on you Nicholas Warden and Norm Croteau for making a deal that let him off with a slap. He stole from a youth league. There should have been jail time for that felony.
Before you all go taking pot shots across the political aisles, you all need to focus on a bigger problem. Does not matter if you're democrat or republican. Both these parties have continued spending money that our country just doesn't have. Don't believe me? Check this out:
This link shows what the US Treasury lists as the USA's creditors.
Add to that our government continues to hand out billions....BILLIONS (depending what you google, estimates are between 4-15 BILLION PER YEAR) to governments that thumb their noses at us. Heck, we subsidize foreign competition with some of these handouts (Brazilian Agriculture, etc).
If you or I spent like this, we'd be standing before a judge with a room full of creditors in the gallery.
Instead of taking pot shots across the political aisle, maybe you all should direct your fire at our Congressional and Senate representation.
I thought about that last night. The state guideline for new school construction was somewhere near 9 acres. The LAP/Armory would not meet the requirements for space. Emiment Domain was needed to get a couple of the parcels to add to the Farwell project. Traffic is already a nightmare on Central Ave/Campus Ave. You'd still be better served looking at the 40+ acres next to McMahon.
Let's not forget McMahon needs lots of work... it was in the top 25 for replacement back in 2003. Why not use the 40+ acres next to McMahon, which was willed to the city years ago, and make the most of it as the location for both a new Middle and Elementary school. Given the economic conditions, it doesn't make any sense building/maintaining/heating TWO new elementary schools. Here's what I would suggest:
1) Build one elementary school to replace Martel, Longley, and McMahon's capability (+20% to accomodate for any population expansion from immigrant communities). Yes, it may well be in the ballpark of 1100 students at one school....and the city already does this at Montello.
2) Build the middle school on the same campus as the elementary school (heck, it's not like there are too many 40+ acre parcels within 5 minutes of downtown left).
3) Redistrict the elementary schools after construction is complete.
4) Sell off the old middle school property (including the armory and LAP) to the highest bidder (are you listening St. Mary's and Bates College???).
5) Sell off the Martel property.
6) Convert/expand Longley into the new Lewiston Armory.
Let's not forget McMahon needs lots of work... it was in the top 25 for replacement back in 2003. Why not use the 40+ acres next to McMahon, which was willed to the city years ago, and make the most of it as the location for both a new Middle and Elementary school. Given the economic conditions, it doesn't make any sense building/maintaining/heating TWO new elementary schools. Here's what I would suggest:
1) Build one elementary school to replace Martel, Longley, and McMahon's capability (+20% to accomodate for any population expansion from immigrant communities). Yes, it may well be in the ballpark of 1100 students at one school....and the city already does this at Montello.
2) Build the middle school on the same campus as the elementary school (heck, it's not like there are too many 40+ acre parcels within 5 minutes of downtown left).
3) Redistrict the elementary schools after construction is complete.
4) Sell off the old middle school property (including the armory and LAP) to the highest bidder (are you listening St. Mary's and Bates College???).
5) Sell off the Martel property.
6) Convert/expand Longley into the new Lewiston Armory.
Tough for you to wrap that mind around, but think bigger picture. Last I checked there are immigrants attending Auburn schools and somehow they are nearly half the drop out rate of Leiwston. Montello's scores are within 2-3 points of being as poor as Longley. There is a bigger problem. Teachers? Maybe... Immigrants? Maybe... But could some of the problems start at home? Some of these parents treat our school system (and extra activities) as some sort of glorified baby-sitting service.
My co-worker and I were discussing the con/pro of sending kids to Parochial schools. Kids come from all sorts of backgrounds, and yes maybe the families are capable of being in a better socio-economic bracket... but the common denominator appears to be a group of like-minded parents who expect/involve themselves in being part of their children's education process.
Could that be the element that is missing from our school system nowadays?
My daughter's class at Geiger has 14 children. 10 are Somali. My assumption is these kids were born here, but seriously... I think there are more issues than immigrant families.
Put aside the 7 out of 10. Why does LHS have a 1 in 12 dropout rate when EL has a 1 in 25 ?? Why is Montello a failing school for consecutive years in a row ?? It's not just poverty and immigrants, there's a fundamental breakdown in how we're approaching this. There are schools in Boston, NYC, Chicago, etc, where the poorest of the poorest are mingled with immigrants and these schools succeed to produce competent graduates. Why can't we get one of the largest elementary schools in the state to produce better than a 40-45% "proficient for their grade level" ?? There has to be an ingredient we're missing in this recipe... I only wish I knew what it was.
You're expecting the "thinkingman" to have facts to behind his stance/comments. Back on topic -- one of the items I'd like to know is what the injury rate was for the Fire Dept and Public Works. In early 2000's they had a high enough incident rate that they had to go the self-funded route. Does Lewiston still self-fund their workers' comp insurance? It didn't seem to be clear in the budget info.
Quite frankly, there is a larger elephant in the room than Longley. Why not look at the body of work, starting with the Superintedent's office? The state data shows Lewiston having an 8.37% dropout rate. Nearly 1 out of 12.
The failures of Longley, Montello, and LMS show this matter is not an isolated issue. What we have is a systemic problem.
I'm not an educator, I don't have any ideas how to fix it. My oldest child is going to kindergarten next year, and my middle child will go to Pre-K (if it is still funded)... but why put them into a system that is dysfunctional and broken across multiple schools? It scares the heck out of me and leaves me awake at night wondering if I'm making the right decision to enroll my children in the Lewiston Schools.
So we have a retiring superintendent, who has a 1 out of 12 student drop-out rate at his high school? Instead of a gold watch, maybe a pink slip?
Seriously folks... 8.37% is almost exactly 1 out of 12. Congratulations Lewiston Middle School 8th graders... look around... 1 out of 12 in your class won't be there when you're ready to graduate.
What can we do to help get these kids an education and give them the skills/tools necessary to become productive adults?
The SunJournal could really hit it out of the park here with a more in-depth article or series to examine this crisis.
"The average road if well built and maintained will still only last about 12 - 15 years" -- Where exactly do you come up with these horsecrap statements? Show some facts to back up your hot air for a change. EPA.gov might be a good place for you to start.
Where do you think Lewiston got the funds for widening Russell Street came from? Where do you think Lew/Aub got additional funding to do more top coat replacement last summer/fall?
Put the thing out by the turnpike where there is Interstate and Rail access. Negotiating downtown is enough of a cluster between 3-6pm most days. BTW, where exactly is the city of Lewiston's downtown redevelopment plan? Is this another case of "flying by the seat of our pants" ?
The YMCA has been looking for a location. Why not put the land to GOOD use on a definite, instead relying upon what-if and could-be proposals? The YMCA project is "shovel ready" once they have obtained a piece of land. The casino should be near rail and turnpike access anyway.
The lights were purchased by volunteers in 2008 and installed by city crews. Volunteers raised $18,000 to buy the lights, as part of an effort to light some of downtown Lewiston's significant buildings, including the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.
According to the arrangement, the lights were attached to a city circuit. Central Maine Power Co. billed the city for the electricity and the city passed that cost along to the Franco Center.
.... in short, the city should not be lighting any active church. IMHO, they shouldn't be paying for any lighting to support private groups. If our councilors are opening up the checkbook, I'd like to see the Lewiston Athletic Park and Montello's Track receive lighting to support youth sports. While they're at it, let's add a few lights to Drouin Field next to the hockey rink.
Full disclosure - I am a C/E Catholic. However, the city of Lewiston should not be lighting any active church. Whether intentional or not, this gives an appearance of favoring one religion and that is a violation of state and federal rules regarding the separation of church and state (or municipality in this case). The FAHC has enough members, with enough deep pockets, to come up with the money to light the church. I'm all for lighting up a wonderful piece of our history, but not with taxpayer dollars. What happens when the Baptists ask to light up their beautiful church on Main Street? Or when the Muslims ask the same for their Mosque? Or when the Univesalists ask? Hopefully, you can see the dilemna. Thanks for your time.
This council doesn't care. They've thrown money around to get legal opinions to their liking, and thumbed their nose at state laws on open versus closed meetings. This is their opportunity to go out in a blaze. I just hope we (the taxpayers) are not in the path of this meteor streaking towards impact.
Put the blasted thing out near the Ramada and other hotels. There is turnpike access and the railway line right there. The last thing downtown needs is more congestion.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Make an investment in the future. Give the land to the YMCA. They have the funds to make something special with that property that WILL benefit the public.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
1) Flatten Bates Mill #5. Give the land to the YMCA so they can become one of the cornerstone downtown residents.
2) Work out deals or eminent domain on the empty buildings and land on lower Lisbon Street. Turn the space into a retail/professional/entertainment district. Milwaukee did this with parts of 2nd/3rd/4th Streets and Wisconsin Avenue (The Grand Avenue). It can be done here to create a signature location.
3) Come up with a means of covering over the canals so these areas can be used as additional parking.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
How much are these "city attorney" opinions costing us above and beyond the retainer?
Or is this another case of fishing for an opinion since there was a high chance MMA would have come out against such a meeting?
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Is there a special on private law firm opinions (Buy a 3-opinion retainer and your 4th opinion is free)? Couldn't get the Maine Municipal Assoc legal team to sign off on this one????
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Your heart is in the right place SRV, but the police will rarely follow up. We have counted an average of 50-65 cars using Fairlawn Ave as a bypass around the lights at Sabattus/Russell and Russell/East Ave between 3-6pm weekdays. It is normal to see vehicles flying at 50-60 mph on the MARKED 15mph street. Pickups seem to be the worst offenders as they just don't seem to give a crap.
It really boils down to these nimrods having no respect. They lack respect for other people, the laws, and common courtesy.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
The city of Auburn has assessed a life the value of $115,000 with this contract.
And shame on you Dave. You might want to spend a day with the fire department.
Has it crossed that peanut you have for a brain, that they might need groceries to have for a meal? Heaven forbid a person on a 24-hour shift should not have the opportunity to eat a decent meal!
You may also want to ask the city of Auburn how many calls they respond to each day and the length of each call. Those guys are lucky if they manage 2-3 hours of sleep on a 24-hour shift.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer, but my goodness there are plenty of nuts!"
Nice twist on words, Mr. Reed. You still don't get my point. There is a tangible benefit to the community that IS NOT being reviewed -- Emergency Response Services. Police/Fire/Medical are services you see, hear, and impact your the lives of the citizenry. Ask LPD and LFD how many mutual assist calls they've been on during the last year in support of APD and AFD (and vice versa). It might surprise you how often these entities rely on each other (I believe this was part of Dr. Hopperstead's report).
How many fire trucks would we need to meet coverage requirements for Lew/Aub? Can the departments reduce maintenance contract costs by having the vehicles under one entity? Can we improve the location of the sub-stations to improve response times? Can we save on by providing training, continuing education, and re-certification at a central location? Can we improve fire prevention and fire code enforcement through a centralized fire inspection office?
Also....While I'm not suggesting we do away with the quasi-government funded monopoly known as United Ambulance -- why can't the council insist on United having substation locations?
Again, all considerations and suggestions to save time, lives, and money.
Mr. Reed - I asked this question of Mr. Guay in 2003. Now I ask it to you and the council. How much is a life worth? 4 minutes? 7 minutes? 11 minutes?
Maybe it would open your eyes to ask for the study Dr. Hopperstead (sp?) did regarding emergency response services for Lewiston and Auburn in the late 1980's and early 1990's. It was very comprehensive in terms of showing the value of an effective emergency response service, but also included legitimate numbers and dollars that could equate to more efficient (quicker response times) and cost effective. The real problem lies in both councils not liking the answers that stand in contrast to their beliefs. How many times in the last 20 years have Lew/Aub tried to "get on the same page", yet it derails and gets brushed off. Dr. Hopperstead's report was stunning. If you were to ask the Lew/Aub fire unions for a copy (I know Auburn's union had a copy back in fall 2003), I'd be willing to bet they have it available for your review.
The councils should not let facts get in the way of their arguments against joint services. Putting "the issue to a public vote" is a copout. A combined joint emergency response service can save money and lives. Make a difference - save the lives of your constituents and the taxpayers (while putting a few dollars back in their pockets).
BTW, 4 minutes --> how long the body can go without a pulse/oxygen before brain cells begin dying... 7 minutes --> average time without oxygen/pulse before the body suffers irreversible brain damage... 11 minutes --> average time without pulse/oxygen before the brain dies.
Mr. Reed, have you considered contracting with the LSJ since you seem to be using their pages as your personal blog spot. The fact you've attempted to bring your wit...at least half of it... and use this forum to throw stones at the council's former employee is stunning. You might want to ask MMA what they think of your above comment/rant (lest you want to have the city pay for another opinion from the city attorney). I may have taken it out of context, but the impression I'm getting may well put the city in an unenviable position should the former employee press the matter.
Longley should never have been a school. It was never built for that purpose. The city should have used common sense and considered making a deal with the Catholic diocese to acquire one of the school properties. It would be a more suitable environment than the multi-purpose center. BTW....If you're ever curious, the State has very interesting population forecasts. They appear to be trending down for most of Androscoggin county in school-aged children. This will make a very interesting dilmena when the time comes to consider the risks with replacing Martel and Lewiston Middle School. The city does have the 40+ acres next to McMahon, but is it feasible to construct a new LMS there?
While it appears to be a beautiful (and needed) facility, I hope all folks posting will take these words and good thoughts to apply pressure to your city council, school board, and state reps to do these same things to McMahon, Martel and the Middle school. Those facilities are cramped and in rough shape.
What exactly is the Roget's English to French translation of "Uhhhh" and "Ummmm" ?
That seems to be a majority of our Mayor's vocabulary on audio and video.
Shouldn't they have fixed this in the 1990's when they re-did the zoning to fix the supposedly "outdated" models? Do it once, do it right. Rework costs us taxpayers money.
Seriously folks, what did you expect ? This is the same horse hockey and chicken bleep that has gone on for years. It is business as usual even with Larry & The Seven Stooges running the city of Lewiston into the ground. The only difference between prior councils versus now is Larry & The Stooges fired the person who was willing to stand up to them and say "No".
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Robert61 - You demand facts and lob verbal stink bombs when you feel someone has misrepresented what you perceive to be "the facts". Nice attempt with the age old copout of, "I was told by someone". Nice. Ladies and Gentlemen, the double-standard !
Recent Comments
What a load of bull
It all boils down to the parents. There is a direct relation between kids performing well in school and parents putting in the effort with their kids.
Schools like St. Dom's, Vineyard, CMCA tend to have enrollment where folks have like-minded beliefs/goals. The test scores rate about the same as a good public school.
How much effort, as the parent, are you willing to put into your child's education? Are you willing to do flash cards, work on their reading, making sure homework is done properly, asking them about their school day, chatting up their teachers more often then a yearly conference to make sure they're on track for their grade level... if you are, your child will perform better in school.
If both sides agree this is a bad deal...
"Both the conservative Maine Heritage Policy Center and the liberal Maine Peoples Alliance have said the settlement provides too little relief."
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck....
This IS a bad deal.
Really?
Red v Blue or Blue v Red aside...
This has all the makings of the gang who couldn't shoot straight.
I agree
Agree with you 100%. I'm glad my youngest will be through Pre-K this year.
The building and location are not suitable for education/safety.
Interesting observation
If they're only putting 6-8 vendors on a page... and there is 13 years worth of vendors.... doesn't 536 pages appear to be kind of a short list?
Between the Portland democratic machine using operatives to libel/slander Cutler and the Lepage/Poliquin follies of recent, many dangerous political precedents have been set during the last 18 months.
We, as Mainers, should be worried that "scorched earth tactics" are now becoming commonplace with elections, state government politics, and agency management. There's never really been anything like this in Maine politics that I can remember. Can you?
L/A residents about to take it in the shorts again
Check out current rates chart, L/A 'pike users are stuck paying a very (unfairly) slanted rate. I hope they get it right, but historically they're not trending towards the right direction.
Dem/GOP shouldn't matter on this one. If you live in L/A, give MTA and the folks in Augusta an earful. We (L/A residents) should not be picking up the tab for Portland and Southern Maine 'pike users.
Outstanding
That quip made my day.
Really?
Still lame.
Swing and a miss...
They lobbed you a softball and the best you could do was some lame three little pigs line?
The appointment seems more like a classic "thank you" from ol' Gov for her extended family (Crafts) backing him during the election campaign. Very disappointing the SJ failed take the extra step and connect the dots. If you look up the ME Finance commission reporting, their family gave ALOT to his campaign.
http://www.mainecampaignfinance.com/netCrystalReports/CandidateCombinedR...
The above link is just one report.
Anything to save a buck...buck...buck
It seems lately, Lewiston city management will do anything to save a buck. They wait until the snow storms are half over before putting sand/salt or plows on the road. Waiting until the day after xmas to announce they're not picking up trees is par for the course.
How exactly did taxpayers win?
Granted this special election may not have cost more than a few hundred dollars, but I must admit I do not see the logic in your comment. Did "we" win because there wasn't another special runoff? Did we prevail when the "winner" of this election displayed a "YouTube" worthy meltdown in front of a throng of media outlets?
I honestly believed Mr. MacDonald couldn't be worse than self-promoting, factually challenged, current mayor of Lewiston. After seeing him "perform" on TV via the candidate forum, reading his quotes printed in the local newspapers, and watching his meltdown on the 5am news - I'm concerned the incoming mayor is factually challenged and acts as if he has some personal score to settle.
Lewiston does not need another "moonbeam" whose actions and constant sabre rattling required the services of our contracted city attorney to constantly intercede before matters reached critical mass.
I hope I'm wrong. For the sake of my tax bill, I really hope I'm wrong.
How exactly did the taxpayer win? Enlighten me.
Insanity
How many (more) times before there is a different result?
This is the classic definition of insanity.
Goodbye Moonbeam! Hello, Blowhard...
The guy has a right to be pissed about the "rumor mongering".
I just hope he is less factually challenged than Moonbeam. So far, his demeanor and willingness to not let facts get in the way of his arguements have not impressed.
LPW sucks... there's no other word for it
The "new" policy of waiting, and waiting.... and waiting before the crews go on the roads sucks. There were no less than three cars stuck on my street that required several of the neighbors and good samaritans to pull, push, tow, and shovel to get them out. The snow stopped flying at 10am. It took until 3:15pm for a plow to come down our street. Over 5 hours from the time the storm passed to seeing a plow. Unacceptable. Once the plows did manage to come down our street, they were paired up; making FIVE passes on each side of the road.
I expect three things from my city (and its employees):
(1) safety
(2) trash picked up
(3) safe, passable streets during and after storms
Moonbeam and the city council failed miserably on two of three.
Don't let facts get in the way...
http://youth.lausbca.org/schedule.html
LAusbca website lists kids between ages 4-18 who bowl on Saturday mornings. From the looks of things, there appears to be 50ish kids who attend. Toss in parents, I'd bet you'd have close to 100 people coming and going for youth bowling between 8:30am-noon on a given Saturday.
You could have taken the time to google/bing Lewiston Auburn Youth Bowling. Then again, you could have taken time to think through your comment.
Really? I mean, c'mon... REALLY?!?!
This may well be one of the most bone-headed comments I've seen in a long time. Seriously? Stealing Jobs?
I voted no for two reasons. 1) The message: "It's our turn" This is the same as my four year old wanting a toy because the other kids at pre-k got one. Just because they got one doesn't mean you deserve one. Make a point with facts and concrete answers.....2) The plan: There was none. At least none that I could discern from the constant incoherent droning every time they were asked questions. Every question was always answered with some obtuse, nebulous phrase or innuendo towards a share of some pie in the sky. What type of jobs? Revenue projections? Good luck, those answers were always delivered in the form of ifs and buts.
What really stuns me is/was the childish response from Moonbeam (yes you Mr. Gilbert!). Was it really necessary for the near tantrum? The message being offered by "Yes" to the voting public stunk. The plan being presented to the voters stunk. The delivery stunk. You want to win over the voting public? Deliver your message in clear, concise, easy to understand answers. Give them a rallying point worthy of remembering. What's our plan? Here's a PDF/Document laying out our mission statement, goals, milestones, and means to accomplish said goals/milestones. If nothing else, a little project management 101 could have gone a long way.
Can the state of Maine support five casino operations? Who knows. If they'd had any sense of a concrete plan, message... I'd have voted yes and let the market determine whether five could survive.
Who are you working for Mr. Hobbs?
Seems like an awful lot of posts, in the last few days, to validate your position Mr. Hobbs.
I'm all for jobs, but who in L/A or Maine is qualified to be a manager, slot mechanic, security operative, etc.. at a casino? If you're all about lower tier jobs (servers, custodial crew, etc) then maybe this is the way to go. They're going to need people from away to fill these higher tier positions until people are trained up. How long does it take to train up someone to be qualified for the next level of positions?
Personally, I don't care if it fails or passes. My concerns lay with the numbers being presented seem, I guess, hypothetical at best and the promises of everyone sharing in the pot of riches.
Maybe I'm off-base, maybe I'm just too skeptical based on the prior history of some associated with the campaign. *shrug*
Where does Martel school replacement stand?
SJ -
The state committee for School Construction/Infrastructure held a hearing/meeting on 9/7 to discuss where the cutoff was going to be for the 2011 need list. Martel is #8 and Longley wasn't much further down on the list. There are no meeting minutes posted from the 9/7. Maybe you'd have an update?
Matt Wooten should have done jail time
Shame on you Nicholas Warden and Norm Croteau for making a deal that let him off with a slap. He stole from a youth league. There should have been jail time for that felony.
He huffed and he puffed...
He huffed, and he puffed... but couldn't blow the house down.
Does it really matter...
Before you all go taking pot shots across the political aisles, you all need to focus on a bigger problem. Does not matter if you're democrat or republican. Both these parties have continued spending money that our country just doesn't have. Don't believe me? Check this out:
http://www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
This link shows what the US Treasury lists as the USA's creditors.
Add to that our government continues to hand out billions....BILLIONS (depending what you google, estimates are between 4-15 BILLION PER YEAR) to governments that thumb their noses at us. Heck, we subsidize foreign competition with some of these handouts (Brazilian Agriculture, etc).
If you or I spent like this, we'd be standing before a judge with a room full of creditors in the gallery.
Instead of taking pot shots across the political aisle, maybe you all should direct your fire at our Congressional and Senate representation.
Not enough room
I thought about that last night. The state guideline for new school construction was somewhere near 9 acres. The LAP/Armory would not meet the requirements for space. Emiment Domain was needed to get a couple of the parcels to add to the Farwell project. Traffic is already a nightmare on Central Ave/Campus Ave. You'd still be better served looking at the 40+ acres next to McMahon.
Why not..
Let's not forget McMahon needs lots of work... it was in the top 25 for replacement back in 2003. Why not use the 40+ acres next to McMahon, which was willed to the city years ago, and make the most of it as the location for both a new Middle and Elementary school. Given the economic conditions, it doesn't make any sense building/maintaining/heating TWO new elementary schools. Here's what I would suggest:
1) Build one elementary school to replace Martel, Longley, and McMahon's capability (+20% to accomodate for any population expansion from immigrant communities). Yes, it may well be in the ballpark of 1100 students at one school....and the city already does this at Montello.
2) Build the middle school on the same campus as the elementary school (heck, it's not like there are too many 40+ acre parcels within 5 minutes of downtown left).
3) Redistrict the elementary schools after construction is complete.
4) Sell off the old middle school property (including the armory and LAP) to the highest bidder (are you listening St. Mary's and Bates College???).
5) Sell off the Martel property.
6) Convert/expand Longley into the new Lewiston Armory.
Whatever...
Let's not forget McMahon needs lots of work... it was in the top 25 for replacement back in 2003. Why not use the 40+ acres next to McMahon, which was willed to the city years ago, and make the most of it as the location for both a new Middle and Elementary school. Given the economic conditions, it doesn't make any sense building/maintaining/heating TWO new elementary schools. Here's what I would suggest:
1) Build one elementary school to replace Martel, Longley, and McMahon's capability (+20% to accomodate for any population expansion from immigrant communities). Yes, it may well be in the ballpark of 1100 students at one school....and the city already does this at Montello.
2) Build the middle school on the same campus as the elementary school (heck, it's not like there are too many 40+ acre parcels within 5 minutes of downtown left).
3) Redistrict the elementary schools after construction is complete.
4) Sell off the old middle school property (including the armory and LAP) to the highest bidder (are you listening St. Mary's and Bates College???).
5) Sell off the Martel property.
6) Convert/expand Longley into the new Lewiston Armory.
PreK has a 14:2 ratio
Lewiston PreK has a 14:2 ratio in the classes. I cannot speak to Kindergarten or other class sizes as I won't know until the fall.
Wrap your mind around this...
Tough for you to wrap that mind around, but think bigger picture. Last I checked there are immigrants attending Auburn schools and somehow they are nearly half the drop out rate of Leiwston. Montello's scores are within 2-3 points of being as poor as Longley. There is a bigger problem. Teachers? Maybe... Immigrants? Maybe... But could some of the problems start at home? Some of these parents treat our school system (and extra activities) as some sort of glorified baby-sitting service.
My co-worker and I were discussing the con/pro of sending kids to Parochial schools. Kids come from all sorts of backgrounds, and yes maybe the families are capable of being in a better socio-economic bracket... but the common denominator appears to be a group of like-minded parents who expect/involve themselves in being part of their children's education process.
Could that be the element that is missing from our school system nowadays?
Well, you're full of it....
My daughter's class at Geiger has 14 children. 10 are Somali. My assumption is these kids were born here, but seriously... I think there are more issues than immigrant families.
LSJ missing the bigger picture
Put aside the 7 out of 10. Why does LHS have a 1 in 12 dropout rate when EL has a 1 in 25 ?? Why is Montello a failing school for consecutive years in a row ?? It's not just poverty and immigrants, there's a fundamental breakdown in how we're approaching this. There are schools in Boston, NYC, Chicago, etc, where the poorest of the poorest are mingled with immigrants and these schools succeed to produce competent graduates. Why can't we get one of the largest elementary schools in the state to produce better than a 40-45% "proficient for their grade level" ?? There has to be an ingredient we're missing in this recipe... I only wish I knew what it was.
You can't fix ignorant
You're expecting the "thinkingman" to have facts to behind his stance/comments.
Back on topic -- one of the items I'd like to know is what the injury rate was for the Fire Dept and Public Works. In early 2000's they had a high enough incident rate that they had to go the self-funded route. Does Lewiston still self-fund their workers' comp insurance? It didn't seem to be clear in the budget info.
Hmmm...
So at what point to we change the "gold watch" into a pink slip for the retiring superintendent? Seriously, these problems didn't crop up overnight.
What about LHS?
Quite frankly, there is a larger elephant in the room than Longley. Why not look at the body of work, starting with the Superintedent's office? The state data shows Lewiston having an 8.37% dropout rate. Nearly 1 out of 12.
The measurements for 2008-9 showed Montello within 3-4% of Longley's math and reading scores. (http://www.lewistonpublicschools.org/~lewschdept/media/schools/nwea08-09.pdf) Why aren't we putting the same efforts into Montello? or the Middle School?
The failures of Longley, Montello, and LMS show this matter is not an isolated issue. What we have is a systemic problem.
I'm not an educator, I don't have any ideas how to fix it. My oldest child is going to kindergarten next year, and my middle child will go to Pre-K (if it is still funded)... but why put them into a system that is dysfunctional and broken across multiple schools? It scares the heck out of me and leaves me awake at night wondering if I'm making the right decision to enroll my children in the Lewiston Schools.
What can we do to help?
1 out of 12 at LHS?
So we have a retiring superintendent, who has a 1 out of 12 student drop-out rate at his high school? Instead of a gold watch, maybe a pink slip?
Seriously folks... 8.37% is almost exactly 1 out of 12. Congratulations Lewiston Middle School 8th graders... look around... 1 out of 12 in your class won't be there when you're ready to graduate.
What can we do to help get these kids an education and give them the skills/tools necessary to become productive adults?
The SunJournal could really hit it out of the park here with a more in-depth article or series to examine this crisis.
Show me facts "not-so" Thinking man
"The average road if well built and maintained will still only last about 12 - 15 years" -- Where exactly do you come up with these horsecrap statements? Show some facts to back up your hot air for a change. EPA.gov might be a good place for you to start.
Where do you think Lewiston got the funds for widening Russell Street came from? Where do you think Lew/Aub got additional funding to do more top coat replacement last summer/fall?
Don't let facts get in the way of your arguement.
Expanded Hours???
I'd hope the city of Lewiston will expand the hours of operation during the traditional clean-up period.
Put the thing out by the
Put the thing out by the turnpike where there is Interstate and Rail access. Negotiating downtown is enough of a cluster between 3-6pm most days. BTW, where exactly is the city of Lewiston's downtown redevelopment plan? Is this another case of "flying by the seat of our pants" ?
The city is on the hook for
The city is on the hook for demolition, regardless of who buys.
The YMCA has been looking for
The YMCA has been looking for a location. Why not put the land to GOOD use on a definite, instead relying upon what-if and could-be proposals? The YMCA project is "shovel ready" once they have obtained a piece of land. The casino should be near rail and turnpike access anyway.
To answer your
To answer your question...
From the article...
The lights were purchased by volunteers in 2008 and installed by city crews. Volunteers raised $18,000 to buy the lights, as part of an effort to light some of downtown Lewiston's significant buildings, including the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.
According to the arrangement, the lights were attached to a city circuit. Central Maine Power Co. billed the city for the electricity and the city passed that cost along to the Franco Center.
.... in short, the city should not be lighting any active church. IMHO, they shouldn't be paying for any lighting to support private groups. If our councilors are opening up the checkbook, I'd like to see the Lewiston Athletic Park and Montello's Track receive lighting to support youth sports. While they're at it, let's add a few lights to Drouin Field next to the hockey rink.
C/E = Catholic who attends
C/E = Catholic who attends mass rarely, usually Christmas & Easter
The annual campaign /
The annual campaign / fundraising idea is very good.
Full disclosure - I am a C/E
Full disclosure - I am a C/E Catholic. However, the city of Lewiston should not be lighting any active church. Whether intentional or not, this gives an appearance of favoring one religion and that is a violation of state and federal rules regarding the separation of church and state (or municipality in this case). The FAHC has enough members, with enough deep pockets, to come up with the money to light the church. I'm all for lighting up a wonderful piece of our history, but not with taxpayer dollars. What happens when the Baptists ask to light up their beautiful church on Main Street? Or when the Muslims ask the same for their Mosque? Or when the Univesalists ask? Hopefully, you can see the dilemna. Thanks for your time.
This council doesn't care.
This council doesn't care. They've thrown money around to get legal opinions to their liking, and thumbed their nose at state laws on open versus closed meetings. This is their opportunity to go out in a blaze. I just hope we (the taxpayers) are not in the path of this meteor streaking towards impact.
Put the blasted thing out
Put the blasted thing out near the Ramada and other hotels. There is turnpike access and the railway line right there. The last thing downtown needs is more congestion.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
You'd be better served
You'd be better served having the casino out by the Ramada for turnpike access anyway. Downtown can't handle the congestion as it is.
Make an investment in the
Make an investment in the future. Give the land to the YMCA. They have the funds to make something special with that property that WILL benefit the public.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
1) Flatten Bates Mill #5.
1) Flatten Bates Mill #5. Give the land to the YMCA so they can become one of the cornerstone downtown residents.
2) Work out deals or eminent domain on the empty buildings and land on lower Lisbon Street. Turn the space into a retail/professional/entertainment district. Milwaukee did this with parts of 2nd/3rd/4th Streets and Wisconsin Avenue (The Grand Avenue). It can be done here to create a signature location.
3) Come up with a means of covering over the canals so these areas can be used as additional parking.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Instead of money to these
Instead of money to these groups, why not forgive bills for services provided by Public Works and Recreation?
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
How much are these "city
How much are these "city attorney" opinions costing us above and beyond the retainer?
Or is this another case of fishing for an opinion since there was a high chance MMA would have come out against such a meeting?
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Is there a special on
Is there a special on private law firm opinions (Buy a 3-opinion retainer and your 4th opinion is free)? Couldn't get the Maine Municipal Assoc legal team to sign off on this one????
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Your heart is in the right
Your heart is in the right place SRV, but the police will rarely follow up. We have counted an average of 50-65 cars using Fairlawn Ave as a bypass around the lights at Sabattus/Russell and Russell/East Ave between 3-6pm weekdays. It is normal to see vehicles flying at 50-60 mph on the MARKED 15mph street. Pickups seem to be the worst offenders as they just don't seem to give a crap.
It really boils down to these nimrods having no respect. They lack respect for other people, the laws, and common courtesy.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Anyone have the over/under
Anyone have the over/under on the number of "um's" and "ah's" that Larry Gilbert will utter?
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
The city of Auburn has
The city of Auburn has assessed a life the value of $115,000 with this contract.
And shame on you Dave. You might want to spend a day with the fire department.
Has it crossed that peanut you have for a brain, that they might need groceries to have for a meal? Heaven forbid a person on a 24-hour shift should not have the opportunity to eat a decent meal!
You may also want to ask the city of Auburn how many calls they respond to each day and the length of each call. Those guys are lucky if they manage 2-3 hours of sleep on a 24-hour shift.
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer, but my goodness there are plenty of nuts!"
How many days does the PD
How many days does the PD have to respond to the request? Could it be there is a request from the Feds to hold this until the trial is complete?
Nice twist on words, Mr.
Nice twist on words, Mr. Reed. You still don't get my point. There is a tangible benefit to the community that IS NOT being reviewed -- Emergency Response Services. Police/Fire/Medical are services you see, hear, and impact your the lives of the citizenry. Ask LPD and LFD how many mutual assist calls they've been on during the last year in support of APD and AFD (and vice versa). It might surprise you how often these entities rely on each other (I believe this was part of Dr. Hopperstead's report).
How many fire trucks would we need to meet coverage requirements for Lew/Aub? Can the departments reduce maintenance contract costs by having the vehicles under one entity? Can we improve the location of the sub-stations to improve response times? Can we save on by providing training, continuing education, and re-certification at a central location? Can we improve fire prevention and fire code enforcement through a centralized fire inspection office?
Also....While I'm not suggesting we do away with the quasi-government funded monopoly known as United Ambulance -- why can't the council insist on United having substation locations?
Again, all considerations and suggestions to save time, lives, and money.
Mr. Reed - I asked this
Mr. Reed - I asked this question of Mr. Guay in 2003. Now I ask it to you and the council. How much is a life worth? 4 minutes? 7 minutes? 11 minutes?
Maybe it would open your eyes to ask for the study Dr. Hopperstead (sp?) did regarding emergency response services for Lewiston and Auburn in the late 1980's and early 1990's. It was very comprehensive in terms of showing the value of an effective emergency response service, but also included legitimate numbers and dollars that could equate to more efficient (quicker response times) and cost effective. The real problem lies in both councils not liking the answers that stand in contrast to their beliefs. How many times in the last 20 years have Lew/Aub tried to "get on the same page", yet it derails and gets brushed off. Dr. Hopperstead's report was stunning. If you were to ask the Lew/Aub fire unions for a copy (I know Auburn's union had a copy back in fall 2003), I'd be willing to bet they have it available for your review.
The councils should not let facts get in the way of their arguments against joint services. Putting "the issue to a public vote" is a copout. A combined joint emergency response service can save money and lives. Make a difference - save the lives of your constituents and the taxpayers (while putting a few dollars back in their pockets).
BTW, 4 minutes --> how long the body can go without a pulse/oxygen before brain cells begin dying... 7 minutes --> average time without oxygen/pulse before the body suffers irreversible brain damage... 11 minutes --> average time without pulse/oxygen before the brain dies.
Mr. Reed, have you
Mr. Reed, have you considered contracting with the LSJ since you seem to be using their pages as your personal blog spot. The fact you've attempted to bring your wit...at least half of it... and use this forum to throw stones at the council's former employee is stunning. You might want to ask MMA what they think of your above comment/rant (lest you want to have the city pay for another opinion from the city attorney). I may have taken it out of context, but the impression I'm getting may well put the city in an unenviable position should the former employee press the matter.
Longley should never have
Longley should never have been a school. It was never built for that purpose. The city should have used common sense and considered making a deal with the Catholic diocese to acquire one of the school properties. It would be a more suitable environment than the multi-purpose center. BTW....If you're ever curious, the State has very interesting population forecasts. They appear to be trending down for most of Androscoggin county in school-aged children. This will make a very interesting dilmena when the time comes to consider the risks with replacing Martel and Lewiston Middle School. The city does have the 40+ acres next to McMahon, but is it feasible to construct a new LMS there?
While it appears to be a
While it appears to be a beautiful (and needed) facility, I hope all folks posting will take these words and good thoughts to apply pressure to your city council, school board, and state reps to do these same things to McMahon, Martel and the Middle school. Those facilities are cramped and in rough shape.
Just remember, it is all fun
Just remember, it is all fun and games until someone loses an eye (from all that finger pointing and wagging).
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
What exactly is the Roget's
What exactly is the Roget's English to French translation of "Uhhhh" and "Ummmm" ?
That seems to be a majority of our Mayor's vocabulary on audio and video.
Shouldn't they have fixed
Shouldn't they have fixed this in the 1990's when they re-did the zoning to fix the supposedly "outdated" models? Do it once, do it right. Rework costs us taxpayers money.
Seriously folks, what did
Seriously folks, what did you expect ? This is the same horse hockey and chicken bleep that has gone on for years. It is business as usual even with Larry & The Seven Stooges running the city of Lewiston into the ground. The only difference between prior councils versus now is Larry & The Stooges fired the person who was willing to stand up to them and say "No".
-- "I'm here for the beer and nuts. Only I've not found the beer here, but there are plenty of nuts!"
Robert61 - You demand facts
Robert61 - You demand facts and lob verbal stink bombs when you feel someone has misrepresented what you perceive to be "the facts". Nice attempt with the age old copout of, "I was told by someone". Nice. Ladies and Gentlemen, the double-standard !