Archive for the ‘local stuff’ Category

…when you have another two people killed 5 minutes from your house.

The wild scene unfolded around 4:30 a.m. outside an address on Mechanic Street where a resident said a loud party had been going on Saturday night.

The district attorney’s office identified the dead as Nelson Geraldino, 18, from stab wounds, and Pedro Genoa, 17, whose wounds included a gunshot to his abdomen. Both were from Fitchburg.

You know for all the criticism of tough old fashioned parenting you hear in the popular press, I note that it doesn’t seem to lead to teens being at parties after midnight let alone 4 a.m. The more stories like this I read, the happier I am with the decision to be Catholic parents to our kids and not buddies.

Arrests have already taken place:

Brothers, Orville Carrion, 22, and Jose Carrion, 27, both of 96 Mechanic St., Apartment #3 have been arrested and charged with murder. Mr. Genoa’s brother, Ronny Genoa, 18, of 137 Meadow Brook Lane was arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder and mayhem. The Carrions were booked at the Fitchburg Police Station and are being held without bail. Carrions were treated for injuries at the Leominster hospital and released. The Carrions will be arraigned Tuesday in Fitchburg District Court. Ronny Genoa was admitted to UMass Medical Center with multiple gunshot wounds. He is under guard and also is held without bail.

Off the top of my head that’s 4 murders in town this year including one that took place under 150 yards from my home. Fitchburg has only 39,000 people I’m 46 years old and when I was younger this was almost unheard of.

The timing is ironic considering this story in the paper today: FSC students encouraged to spend time in city’s center.

Residents and business owners have met recently to discuss what to do about downtown problems, such as loitering, drug dealing and prostitution.

Antonucci said one of the best ways to address those problems is to get people, including college students, into the downtown businesses.

That’s what I call bad timing, and speaking of irony from that story again:

But, she said, the Upper Common can have issues with a lack of parking.

“If you can find parking, it’s a great place to walk around,” Wong said.

And if you can’t you’d better duck:

Fitchburg Police responded to multiple 911 calls at about 4:43 a.m. with a reports of gunshots fired near 96 Mechanic St. Police found three victims on the ground with serious injuries and a fourth suffering from serious head and arm wounds. Police report that a disagreement arose about parking arrangements

You know too bad we don’t have those really tough gun laws in Massachusetts to keep stuff like this from happening.

Puts all that Van Jones stuff into perspective doesn’t it?

This is the 2nd Tornado Watch in the area…

Posted: August 21, 2009 by datechguy in local stuff
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…that we’ve had in the last three months. I’ve lived in Worcester County Massachusetts for my entire life I don’t recall us being in a tornado watch area twice before, let alone twice in a year, but then again maybe I just wasn’t paying attention.

It’s rather harrowing when your teenage son is out driving in the western part of the state with friends when this is going on.

Considering how rare that stuff is around here it’s unlikely that it will develop but it’s a new experience for me.

How do you guys in the midwest put up with it?

I see purple

Posted: August 6, 2009 by datechguy in local stuff, opinion/news
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Why is congress so worried? Stuff like this.

congress

I know this is an online poll but I can’t believe that we have an online advantage in EVERY state.

The rating of the media is identical with one exception. Even DC doesn’t care for them.

Old advice but good advice

Posted: July 28, 2009 by datechguy in local stuff
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You know I’m reading a very old Book: American History told by Contemporaries Volume 1 Era of Colonization 1492-1689 by historian Albert Bushnell Hart back in 1897. It’s a collection excepts and complete accounts by people who actually lived and experienced events.

Considering the economic situation these days I found this particular package on Suggestions of Granting Lands written in 1665 by a surveyor named Thomas Woodard. He was hired by the proprietors of the “Province of Carolina” and he offered certain interesting advice about making things profitable, he starts by quoting Sir Francis Bacon’s essay of Plantation:

“…The principall thing that hath been the destruction of most Plantations hath bin the hastee drawing of Profit in the first yeares.”

And it is my Opinion, (which I submitt to better Judgements) that it will for some time conduce more to your Lordshipe Profit to permit men to take up what tracts of Land they please at an easie rate, then to stint them to small proportions at a great rent.

In less that 3 days taxes on Meals, sales, liquor etc will be going up 25% here in the state of Massachusetts. We will in a modern advanced and easy society yet ironically even 350 years ago people understood that crushing taxes might make a short terms difference while destroying you long term, but low taxes and fees encourage prosperity with crushing taxes.

New Hampshire is going to do very well over this, but I wish the president and the Governor would take a hint from history.