Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

I put the “two” in quotes because the Telegram is out of Worcester. From their story:

Dianne Luby, executive director of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said the grant her agency has received will allow it to “be part of the public health solution.” Though the teen birth rate in Fitchburg is 17 per 1,000 — lower than the state average of 49 per 1,000, she said — the city’s demographics make it ripe for a family planning program. The grant wouldn’t allow for abortions and the office wouldn’t have surgical equipment, she emphasized.

One thing that I found frustrating at the meeting is nobody on the counsel asked “what demographics”? What makes Fitchburg ripe for their services when the rate is way below the state avg and has been dropping?

The Sentinel’s coverage noted something else interesting:

Those who had originally wanted to draft a resolution against Planned Parenthood two weeks ago, but ultimately voted to take no action, cited legal advice by City Solicitor Michael Ciota, who said a resolution may be unconstitutional and could make the city vulnerable to legal recourse.

Ciota said the City Council must protect the constitution of the United States, which gives women the right to have an abortion.

“I am concerned finally that even if (a resolution) were not to open the door to liability in any immediate sense, the expressions of the individuals in this chamber which form the government of this city can,” Ciota said.

The counselors reaction to Mr. Ciota’s representations were the real story of the night and I’ll be discussing that in later posts on the subject.

Although it is not yet up FATV routinely puts up the city counsel meetings online. They will be broadcasting and re-broadcasting it on local TV as well.

How good was the reporting? There is a lot that was left out that I believe was significant but these were not meant to be essays, fact that the meetings ran so late might have been an issue since both papers run in the morning and deadlines looming.

As I continue to post on this I hope to add some insight that time and space might not have permitted for them.