Ed Cameron, Newburyport City Council

City of Newburyport Public Meeting: Open Space and Recreation Plan 2012

2012-02-09T12:47:00.000-05:00

Do you have ideas about how to improve parks and playgrounds?

Are you interested in protecting scenic areas?

Do you want more recreational activities offered for adults or kids?

Do you know where to find information about parks?

Do you know where to find walking trails on City lands?

Do we need more athletic fields?

Are you a rail trail enthusiast?

Do you use the dog parks?

Is there a particular property you’d like protected?

Come to the public meeting to find out more!City of Newburyport Public Meeting

Open Space and Recreation Plan 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
6:30-8pm
Newburyport Public Library

If you answered yes to any of the questions above or have other ideas you’d like to share please come to the Public Meeting.

Please be sure to complete our survey...

www.surveymonkey.com/NewburyportOSRP2012

We are looking for your ideas on how we can make Newburyport's open
spaces and recreation areas great for all to enjoy.

Newburyport Office of Planning and Development (978) 465-4400

Volunteer Opportunity: Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

2012-02-08T11:56:00.001-05:00

Did you know that there are approximately 250,000 annual visitors to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge? The success of this unique area depends on volunteers. Volunteers are currently needed in two areas. Please consider having fun in a relaxing environment while donating some time to one of the following:

Gift Shop at the Refuge main office, 6 Plum Island Turnpike, Newburyport

Visitor Information Center at Lot #1

For information about these and other time-flexible opportunities, please contact:

Jean Adams, Volunteer Coordinator

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

6 Plum Island Turnpike

Newburyport, MA 01950

Phone: 978-465-5752 X 208

Email: jean_adams@fws.gov

Website: www.parkerriver.org

Bringing Craziness to the Local Level

2012-02-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

I preface this post by stating "I am not an agent of the United Nations nor any other anti-American conspiracy nor am I a social engineer."

There are lots of valid reasons to favor or oppose concepts like sustainable development, stretch building codes, and local historic districts, but labeling proponents as representing "the coordination of local governments by global entities and the U.N. with social engineering as a true objective" seems a bit of a stretch.

From the NY Times, February 3, 2012
Activists Fight Green Projects, Seeing U.N. Plot

Across the country, activists with ties to the Tea Party are railing against all sorts of local and state efforts to control sprawl and conserve energy. They brand government action for things like expanding public transportation routes and preserving open space as part of a United Nations-led conspiracy to deny property rights and herd citizens toward cities.

They are showing up at planning meetings to denounce bike lanes on public streets and smart meters on home appliances — efforts they equate to a big-government blueprint against individual rights.

“Down the road, this data will be used against you,” warned one speaker at a recent Roanoke County, Va., Board of Supervisors meeting who turned out with dozens of people opposed to the county’s paying $1,200 in dues to a nonprofit that consults on sustainability issues.

Local officials say they would dismiss such notions except that the growing and often heated protests are having an effect.

In Maine, the Tea Party-backed Republican governor canceled a project to ease congestion along the Route 1 corridor after protesters complained it was part of the United Nations plot. Similar opposition helped doom a high-speed train line in Florida. And more than a dozen cities, towns and counties, under new pressure, have cut off financing for a program that offers expertise on how to measure and cut carbon emissions.

“It sounds a little on the weird side, but we’ve found we ignore it at our own peril,” said George Homewood, a vice president of the American Planning Association’s chapter in Virginia.

The protests date to 1992 when the United Nations passed a sweeping, but nonbinding, 100-plus-page resolution called Agenda 21 that was designed to encourage nations to use fewer resources and conserve open land by steering development to already dense areas. They have gained momentum in the past two years because of the emergence of the Tea Party movement, harnessing its suspicion about government power and belief that man-made global warming is a hoax.

In January, the Republican Party adopted its own resolution against what it called “the destructive and insidious nature” of Agenda 21. And Newt Gingrich took aim at it during a Republican debate in November.

Read the whole article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/us/activists-fight-green-projects-seeing-un-plot.html

This is all rather humorously paranoid, except it's straight out of the John Birch Society playbook of the 1950's and 60's....and, according to the Bill Hudak for Congress website, the Newburyport Republican Committee featured an 'information session' on Agenda 21.

From http://www.hudakforcongress.com/node/652/image?page=25

January 12, 2012 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Join Bill at the Newburyport RTC Meeting at Stripers in Salisbury for an important information meeting regarding Agenda 21.

Throughout our Country, in MA, and right now in Newburyport, the rights of homeowners are under attack with increased momentum. This is not a coincidence. Please read below to learn about the factors that result in fewer property rights for families across America.

Please attend the local information session to learn more about the methods and organizations behind the goals of reducing choices and liberties of private property owners and increasing the power of government officials.

Local Agenda 21: Coming to Your Neighborhood.
An information session on Agenda 21 by leading expert, Hal Shurtleff.
Thursday , Jan. 12, 2012 at 7:30 PM
Stripers Grille Restaurant Function Room
175 Bridge Road, Salisbury. MA 01952

Agenda 21 has infiltrated Newburyport as well as hundreds of other towns. Elected Mayors and town officials are solicited and encouragement (often with taxpayer funded grants) to participate in the many Agenda 21 programs. These programs often come to a city with nice names like The Green Communities Act, Sustainable Development, and ICLEI. They result in mandates like stretch building codes and the mentality that accepts powerful local historic districts. These organizations appear locally driven, but they represent the coordination of local governments by global entities and the U.N. with social engineering as a true objective.

Mayors and city legislatures may not comprehend what they are endorsing when committing a city to an Agenda 21 Program. Regardless of the specific Agenda 21 program, citizens soon realize their choices become limited, homeowner rights are restricted, and they lose economic progress in their city.

Please go to this website if you are looking for more information.
http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/

Please email Colleen Fallon, cfallongop@gmail.com, with any questions or comments.

How crazy is this....? If the anti-Agenda 21 folks are correct, will we be seeing this headline in the Newburport Daily News?
UN Security Council Passes ResolutionOpposing New CVS in Newburyport

Pennies for Poverty Benefit

2012-02-01T19:37:00.000-05:00

Oyster Sampling:

Come to the Starboard Galley on Saturday evening, February 4, 2012 between 6 and 7:30pm for an Oyster Sampling to benefit Pennies for Poverty. Master shucker Richard Rush will be on hand to crack open delicious fresh oysters. You'll have the opportunity to order a beverage, sample a complementary oyster or two and donate to the Pennies 2 Cent Grant Fund. Your support is important as we continue raising awareness of poverty and collecting donations to assist those who are experiencing poverty here in Greater Newburyport.

It should be a fun evening for all and a great way to assist those in need. Once you've sampled and donated you should plan to settle in for a delicious meal right there at the Starboard Galley, 55 Water Street, Newburyport. Hope to see you there!

Scoop on Mr. India

2011-12-13T19:54:00.002-05:00

This is the kinda scoop that Tom Salemi will envy....

Not a scoop really, just that I noticed in those tiny little notices in the Daily News that Mr. India is appearing before the Licensing Board in January to request that their beer and wine license be transferred to a new location....

http://www.google.com/maps?q=140+High+Street,+Newburyport,+MA&hl=en&ll=42.808409,-70.873591&spn=0.001635,0.004128&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=57.030354,135.263672&vpsrc=6&hnear=140+High+St,+Newburyport,+Essex,+Massachusetts+01950&t=h&z=19

Public Meeting on Rezoning

2011-12-05T10:20:00.000-05:00

Dear Newburyporter,

I received a lot of feedback regarding the possibility of rezoning 81 and 83 Storey Avenue, so as reported in today's Daily News, please be aware that:

The Committee on Planning & Development will hold a joint meeting with the Planning Board on Wednesday, December 7 at 6:30pm at CC Chambers to review the proposal for a zoning change on Storey Ave.

Councillor Ed Cameron