Saturday’s Gazette publishes a letter from Keith and Amy Wilson of Northampton. Keith is a member of Northampton’s Planning Board. Here the Wilsons are writing in their personal capacity as residents, asking city officials to take their time as they weigh the fate of our elementary schools: …the many factors that go into this decision […]
Month: March 2008
Polluted Runoff Helps Trash Two Ponds in South Hadley
As The Sustainable Sites Initiative reports, pollution from water runoff is no joke. “Contaminated stormwater runoff from developed land is the leading cause of water quality problems[23] and accounts for 70 percent of water pollution in urban areas.[29] Runoff from developed areas can contain oil, grease, excessive nutrients, pathogens (e.g., E. coli, hepatitis A), persistent […]
325 Petition Signatures and Counting: Sustainable Northampton Public Schools Joins Northampton Education Action Team
Sustainable Northampton Public Schools has joined forces with Northampton Education Action Team to urge city officials to take the time needed to make wise long-term decisions for Northampton’s schools. Their combined website is online now at http://www.neatonline.net/. Here’s the latest news about the petition drive to defer a decision on closing a Northampton school for […]
April 12: Garden Clean Up/Community Rally for Bridge Street School
Kathleen McElhaney, president of the Bridge Street School PTO, invites all members of the community to the following event: Garden Clean Up/Community Rally Saturday, April 12 from 1pm to 3pm On the grounds of Bridge Street School, 2 Parsons Street. In case of rain, the event will take place on April 13. Please contact Ms. […]
Sustainable Northampton Public Schools Petitions City to Defer Decision on Bridge Street School for One Year
A new organization, Sustainable Northampton Public Schools, has launched to protect the quality of the city’s public schools during the current fiscal hard times. They are circulating the following petition: Dear Elected Officials of Northampton, There’s no question the budget climate is brutal, and that as much as we are all heartsick about it, very […]
AP: “S&P Says Home Prices Fall by Record 10.7 Percent in January”
AP reports today: U.S. home prices fell 10.7 percent in January, and the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 cities saw the steepest decline in the index’s two-decade history… Pava Leyrer, president of Heritage National Mortgage in Detroit, said the tightening of loan standards has compounded the problems of too much inventory, foreclosures […]
Mayor Presents Latest Northampton City Budget, Proposed School Budget Reductions
At Bridge Street School tonight, Mayor Clare Higgins and School Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez-Babcock presented Northampton’s FY2009 budget and a list of expense reductions now being considered for the city’s public schools. Ward 3 City Councilor Robert Reckman hosted the presentation. About 100 citizens attended, as did Councilors-At-Large James Dostal and Michael Bardsley. Mayor Higgins expressed […]
Woes in Condo Market Build As New Supply Floods Cities: Wall Street Journal
March 22’s Wall Street Journal predicts challenging times for condo developers. The supply of condos currently exceeds 10 months of sales, the highest level since the National Association of Realtors began keeping records in 1999. Delinquency rates for condo loans held by commercial banks ballooned from 5.9% in the third quarter of 2007 to 10.1% […]
Closing Bridge Street School Contradicts Smart Growth Goals
Due to Northampton’s looming budget shortfall, it has been widely reported that Bridge Street Elementary School is at risk of closing. We appreciate that the closure could save $400,000, but it goes against some of the better goals of the Sustainable Northampton Plan, which include getting people out of their cars and encouraging them to […]
Public Invited to Ward 3 Budget Briefing with Mayor Higgins, March 24 at 6:30pm
Councilor Robert Reckman will host Mayor Clare Higgins and Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez-Babcock for a Budget Briefing meeting at the Bridge Street Elementary School, 2 Parsons Street in Northampton. The meeting will take place on Monday, March 24 from 6:30-8:30pm. The public is invited. The new fiscal year begins on July 1. The future of the […]