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Local News Briefs & Tidbits: 11-14-08

by Bill Dusty

CONSERVATIVES GONE WILD
At the expense of Congressman Barney Frank, Fox News talk show host and prime-time king Bill O’Reilly got a little unexpected insight from comedian Dennis Miller recently when the two were discussing corporate bailouts. Check out the video clip here.

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MAYFLOWER MARATHON

Next week, local radio show geeks Bax & O’Brien will be hosting their annual Mayflower Marathon outside of the Basketball Hall of Fame. The event begins Monday, November 24, and runs through the 26th (52 hours). Folks are encouraged to stop by with huge amounts of non-perishable goods to help fill up three 48-foot trailers located on-site.

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ANOTHER LOSS FOR THE TOWING ALLIANCE
The City of Springfield’s towing contract with the Springfield Towing Alliance (STA) was terminated on November 1st, 2008. And now the Intruder has learned that the Alliance suffered yet another defeat when they were found in contempt of court for refusing to release three vehicles without charge when instructed to do so by the court.

The vehicles had originally been seized by Springfield Police as part of a drug bust. But according to attorney Norma Calarese, who represented the complainant, the STA was ordered to release the vehicles this past summer after the DA’s office agreed that they could not show the cars were involved in the case. The STA balked at the order, however, insisting they were due storage fees.

On October 29, just before being released from their contract with the city, the STA was found in contempt. The complainant reportedly picked up the vehicles, without charge, soon thereafter.

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MARZILLI IN GERMANY
State Senator James Marzilli, who when last we heard had been arrested for sexually harrassing four women and who subsequently spent time in a psycho ward, recently undertook a trip to Germany to attend an environmental forum there.

“Everybody was really excited to have a senator there,” said attendee Anja Caldwell in this Boston Globe article.

Apparently not everyone was as excited as Caldwell, however. From the same Globe article:

“Most of the members thought he was under psychiatric care, in a hospital,” said Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei. “And then you find out he’s halfway across the world representing the Massachusetts Senate? It’s just a sorry situation. It’s an embarrassment to the Senate for him to still be around.”

Senate President Therese Murray was likewise unamused: “I find it completely outrageous given the circumstances of Jim Marzilli’s pending Senate ethics investigation and criminal trial that he would use his elected status in this way,” she’s quoted as saying in a statement.

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MCDI EVOLUTION
Over at Business West, the effort to rehabilitate the once-controversial Mass Career Development Institute (MCDI), which was scandalized in the early 2000s under the leadership of Gerry Philips, continues as the work of current Executive Director Timothy Sneed is profiled.

More news on the MCDI can be found here.

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And Finally……

WEBLOG ROUNDUP

- Northampton Afternoon: Tommy Devine wanders the streets of Northampton…

- How will we feed ourselves? Michaelann Bewsee ponders pantries feeling the pinch.

- Lack of Foresight: Unfortunately, the Patriots lost.

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Posted by Bill Dusty on Nov 14th, 2008 and filed under Latest Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.