Two working groups of the Best Practices Committee met on October 29. In the morning, David Narkewicz, Wendy Foxmyn and Lisa DePiano met as the Inreach Working Group. In the evening, Wendy Foxmyn and Alex Ghiselin met as members of the Report Writing Working Group. Here are complete Vimeo videos of both meetings, with the […]
Month: October 2008
11/5: Meeting to Discuss Pleasant Street Petroleum Cleanup Project
We are pleased to pass along this update from the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association: Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:36 pm (PDT) To: Members of the Ward 3 Association From: Jerry Budgar Re: Update and Upcoming Meetings I have been asked to inform everyone about two upcoming meetings that will impact Ward 3. I hope folks […]
David Goldberg, “Of Sprawl Schools and Small Schools”
David Goldberg’s “Of Sprawl Schools and Small Schools” (PDF) appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of On Common Ground, published by the National Association of Realtors. As the fate of Bridge Street School is weighed, these excerpts merit consideration: As recently as 1969 roughly half of all students walked or biked to school. In 2001 […]
Video: October 23 Best Practices Meeting; Report Deadline Draws Near
Here is a complete Vimeo video of the October 23 meeting of Northampton’s Best Practices Committee. The meeting took place in the Board of Public Works Board Room at 125 Locust Street. The video is 92 minutes long, and was shot by Lachlan Ziegler.The City Council is expecting a report from the Best Practices Committee […]
Charts from Cityschool 101 Session of October 20
As described by Mayor Clare Higgins, “cityschool is a 9-week in-depth introduction to how your city government works and is modeled on the successful Citizens Police Academy. We often receive phone calls in my office which begin with ‘I’m not sure what office to call, but…’, which made us think we can do a better […]
Photo Essay: Our Woods in Fall
“Regardless of neighborhood economic status, our side streets are graced with impromptu patches of wildflowers, sunflowers, tomatoes, blackberries and ferns, overshadowed by iconic oaks, maples, sycamore, white pine, and spruce trees. Our expanding system of rail trails encourages off-street exploration by bike or foot, while promoting fitness and casual neighborly chit-chat.”From Rutherford Platt, “The Humane […]
Pioneer Valley Home Prices Fell 4.7% in Third Quarter
Yesterday’s Springfield Republican reports: Median home prices fell 4.7 percent across the Pioneer Valley to $205,000 in the third quarter, according to the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley. Also during July, August and September, the number of homes sold fell 16.8 percent compared to the same three months in 2007, according to figures released Wednesday.Click […]
Design of New Police Station Wins Approval; CBAC Video
Northampton’s Central Business Architecture Committee and the Planning Board signed off on the design for the new police station on October 16. Here is a 36-minute Vimeo video of the CBAC’s deliberations: Here is the Final Revised Front (Center Street) Elevation formally submitted to the CBAC. It also available as a 13MB PDF, and the […]
School Committee Meeting Underscores Imminent Peril Facing Bridge Street School
The full board of the Northampton School Committee met on October 16. A Bridge Street School parent of two attended and emailed us with their concerns: I would like to bring to your attention that although the school committee meeting was not televised last night, some important information that the public might want to know […]
AP: “Home construction falls sharply in September”
AP reported on Friday: Home construction falls sharply in September The Commerce Department reported Friday that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 6.3 percent last month, a much bigger decline than the 1.6 percent decrease that had been expected. It pushed total production to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000 units. That’s […]