Has the Mayor lost control?

Well, if you live in Waltham, by now you must have heard about our wonderful police officer that decided that he liked little girls too much. With the previous chief under investigation for beating up his wife, and thinking about how badly we dealt with all the snowfall this winter, I really do have to wonder what's going on in the corner office. Mayor McCarthy beat David Gately a few years back...and she's now into her second term, and is rumoured to be not seeking a third. It would be nice to have an actual mayoral campaign in this city...and I think we need an inspirational type of a strong leader, instead of the laissez-faire type we've had for a while now.

Breaking News

Good Evening. I went up to Hannaford's supermarket on Russell Street this evening. The way was blocked by a multitude of police cars and other such things. I went around the back way and did my shopping, but in talking to some of the people indoors, I discovered that "somebody was hit" out front in the crosswalk. Given that Main Street was closed, and traffic was being re-routed around the scene, it doesn't look like it's going to end well. More news as it develops.

City Council Meeting 02/25

This reporter visited the Waltham City Council meeting last night, for no reason other to network with the local pols. There was some routine business conducted, and a recognition of a local girl's softball team. Details below. WALTHAM, MA. I arrived about 10 minutes earlier than the scheduled start time. The Council chamber was packed - there were a large number of younglings in Softball uniforms. Council President Bob Waddick called the meeting to order. A significant amound of silence was offered for our Veterans, and a number of local persons of significance that had passed on since the last council meeting. Councilor Curtin immediately called for a suspension of the rules, and recognized a local girl's softball team. They won the Senior League Championship this past season and were being recognized by the city. Citations were presented to all present. League President Steve McGovern spoke briefly about the league and their future plans in the city. Councilor McMenimen offered a congratulatory message to a Mrs. Mary Graceffa, who was turning 99 on the morrow. She went on to note that Mrs. Graceffa still worked a few hours a week at local bank. City Clerk Russ Malone read a Rule 29 to the council, reminding everyone of the rules for a public hearing. There are specific timelines and orders regarding proposals, rebuttals, questioning and other such things. There was a point to this, as a petition was placed before the Council by a local developer. They are asking for permission to "cut" a street from curb to curb in order to run water, sewer, and gas lines to a new home they're working on. Surprisingly, this matter took on a life of it's own, and went on to dominate the bulk of the meeting. Nearly 45 minutes of grilling took place by multiple members of the Council. There were questions about restoring the street, the drainage of the property, a lengthy discussion about the property setbacks, grandfathering, and property lines, and finally a member of the council seemed obsessed with a drainage pit that had been dug in order to test soil percolation prior to construction. In any case...the sausage-making was completed, and the matter referred to the Public Works committee for proper permitting of the project. There was a brief note from the Finance Committee about the Mayor's request for $10k to investigate the Police Chief. (note - he was involved in an assault and other crimes last year. He was placed on leave, and the criminal investigation continues.) After this, the committee delved into more routine business of permit and license approvals. Capping the night was the "New Business" portion of the meeting. The city received a mountain of complaints about snow removal during the recent Blizzard, and a proposal was made to create a new city ordinance to require property owners to clear the sidewalks within 30 hours of a storm. All the neighboring cities and towns have such a rule, and Waltham itself does not have the resources to clear any more sidewalks other than around the schools. The matter was referred to committee. It was noted that the Mayor was requested to attend the next meeting to address the snow removal issues. The last item of business was an update on the Fernald Property in this city. A number of years ago now, the State came up with a re-use plan, but this has been languishing on the Mayor's desk ever since. Councilor Tom Stanley has been working on this, and he's suggested that the state may come up with a new plan that will allow the city to buy some prime land for open space at fire-sale prices before the rest goes to a developer. Mr. Stanley was visibly agitated over the Mayor's lack of progress on this issue, and also made a demand request for the Mayor to attend a meeting to address the issue before the council. With no other business, President Waddick called for a motion to adjourn, and the Council dispersed for the evening.

Welcome to Waltham News and Views!

Hi out there. I'm starting a new blog for the city of Waltham, MA. Since the News Tribune moved to Needham, and there's no beat reporters covering this city anymore...I decided to do it myself. Stay tuned to this space for local news, commentary, opinion, and who knows what else. We'll be diving right in with our first story next!