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Local News Briefs & Tidbits: 07-09-09

by Bill Dusty

REGIONAL ELECTION UPDATES:
It’s been a few weeks since the last update on this year’s election cycle. Ideally, I wanted to wait until the deadline for signatures had passed, just to weed out the riff-raff, but things are beginning to pile up here at the SI home office.

Starting out in Holyoke, there is Wesley Kulig, of 63 Jarvis Avenue. Kulis is running for Councilor at Large in that city. Kulig is a local businessman and a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary International. Like many local leaders, Kulig says he’s tired of businesses from the eastern part of the state getting dibs on jobs here in the Valley: “If a couple of million dollars were given to the city to build a jungle gym and a park,” he writes, “why do we have to hire outsiders (from the Eastern part of the state) to design and build this park? Do we not need jobs? Do we not have intelligent residents and businesses that can provide input into design and building this project?”

Meanwhile, in Chicopee, Iraq War veteran and political newcomer Mark McAuliffe is in the ring for Ward 2 alderman. Word is, McAuliffe picked up the support of the city’s Republican Committee this spring and is lining up to be the challenging favorite heading into this fall’s election. The Ward 2 alderman seat is currently held by Charles Swider, according to the Chicopee city Web site.

Meanwhile, here in Springfield, MA, 22-year-old Michael Fenton has tossed his hat into the ring for the Ward 2 City Council seat. According to a press release, while going through college young Fenton worked on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. and also in the Rhode Island State House. Fenton will be attending the Western New England College School of Law in the fall. The local blog, Western Mass Politics & Insight, has more on Fenton, here. The Ward 2 City Council spot appears to be filling up as the filing deadline approaches. (The deadline for turning in signatures in Springfield is July 28, 2009.)

In statewide news, U.S. Representative Barney Frank will be challenged for his 4th Congressional District seat this year by Republican Earl Sholley. According to a press release received by The Intruder, Sholley “has worked as a community activist, specifically in the areas of race relations and legal reform. He has lobbied extensively for budget transparency and better use of tax dollars, legal reform and judicial accountability. He has been a guest on venues across the country, including CBS this Morning and National Public Radio.”

The release goes on to state that Sholley will work to reduce government spending and provide tax relief to citizens. “The people of the district are tired of career politicians who use their position to advance their own personal agenda,” Sholley is quoted as saying in the release. “I promise to make the concerns of the people my first priority. I look forward to working with the people of the 4th District to find real solutions to the problems that affect our district and the nation.”

Learn more about Sholley at his campaign Web site, here.

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In other news….

MEN NO LONGER REQUIRED?
Here’s a frightening thought: Someday soon, actual living, breathing men may no longer be required to reproduce the human race.

That bad news came one step closer to reality (perhaps) with news out of England that scientists there have claimed to have developed sperm from stem cells. In an Associated Press story linked at AOL’s Website, researchers at Newcastle University and the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute have said that they’ve used embryonic stem cells to accomplish the feat. (Man, I just knew that embryonic stem cell research would end up screwing us.)

Other scientists, however, have criticized the researchers’ claims, according to the AP story. The “sperm” created by the research team appeared to be “clearly abnormal,” and lacked “the specific shape, movement and function of real sperm,” reported the critics.

Still, it’s a start. (Or rather, guys, is it the beginning of the The End?)

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STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES
In other AOL news, one unfortunate man died after falling into a vat of chocolate while working at a temp job in a chocolate factory. He was apparently dumping chocolate into the vat for melting and mixing when he fell into it. The mixer’s agitator reportedly struck the fatal blow.

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And in Great Britain, the marketing company onebestway encouraged its employees to work at the office in the nude as a way of building both self-confidence and confidence in each other. Only one female employee took up the call – a 23-year-old (and probably a hottie) – with a couple other women stripping down to black underwear. The story on the unusual corporate strategy didn’t mention how many of the guy’s dropped their laundry.

“We have been so much closer since, professionally and personally,” Managing Director Mike Owen said in the article. “It’s given us that boost I wanted.”

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BIASED MEDIA COVERAGE

While visiting the Springfield Plaza in East Springfield last month, I came upon these protestors (above) in front of ABC-40′s station on Liberty Street. They were protesting what they said was ABC’s biased, pro-Obama coverage of the bailout and other government spending issues. It was just a matter of guilt by association on the part of local Channel 40′s affiliation, however, as one demonstrator said the station itself had actually been quite fair to their side in past events. “They just happen to be the local affiliate of ABC,” he said.

Another view of the protest. I was a bit far away to be sure, but I believe that’s ABC-40 owner John Gormally with the tie, standing there with another guy at the far end of the street. One demonstrator told me they were just counting the protestors. Both men left after a couple of minutes.

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LOOKING UP

While at the Springfield Plaza, a C-5A cruised over my head while making its landing run. Always a cool sight.

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Finally, above is a short video of scenes from the Hoop City Jazz & Art Festival, held on the weekend of the 4th of July at the STCC campus.

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Posted by Bill Dusty on Jul 9th, 2009 and filed under Elections, Feature Stories, Latest Posts, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.