Tuesday, March 10, 2009

WTF

Councilor Leo pelletier just came out in support of negotiating a deal to bring LNG to Fall River, at the Council meeting.

Update:
Councilor linda perreira said she would prefer LNG to raising taxes.

Anyone else?

41 comments:

Vicki said...

Please tell me you're joking. *sigh*

Anonymous said...

Leo has been on the take for years, he was involved in Kozaks resignation. Check it out he is going down for racketeering.

Anonymous said...

Well first of all how many of us actually pay property taxes and shouldn't it be up to us to decide
if we want to pay more before losing the safety and lives and our property values to lng?????

Anonymous said...

kozak was in $ trouble check it out.

Tom Paine said...

This is normal for the city of Fall River. I was surprised that we fought against LNG this long.

Our city leaders, and yes, many of the citizens are willing to take what other communities do not want. We get what we deserve.

We deserve a mayor like Bob, and a school committee etc.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely No Way...LNG would be the worst thing to happen to Fall River.Quality of Life and Public Safety will be at risk.We need to solve our problems not compound them!!

Anonymous said...

We should sell our souls (and safety) for some temporary jobs and tax money from LNG?

We pay very low taxes here in Fall River and if you ever lived any place else you would know it. I know now is not the popular time to raise them, especially on property. But it is time to consider new revenue sources. What about a small increase in the sales tax? We rolled back the income tax when times were good, why not put it back where it was?
We cannot let Hess capitalize on the bad economy and swoop in for the kill. We must remain committed to stopping it.

Anonymous said...

There is no way lng is coming into my neighborhood while I lay down- this is bs.

Anonymous said...

What do you expect from Leo, he's for strip clubs. If it's something no other city or town wants, you can be sure it will end up in Fall River.

Anonymous said...

If you are really mike herren you better from your fathers years in office that you better start speaking up now- uncensored!!! It's over no matter who you work for right now. The administration could be completely different next year, we have to look at the long-term this is a big political ploy and scare tactics.

CharlotteDespard187@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Was there a full moon directly over city hall tonight which prompted these councilors to become lunatics? Or was it something the mayor slipped into their water? In either case, they most certainly have got to be out of their minds!

Anonymous said...

Don't let this distract from the main focus of the night, bringing back our laid off police, fire and dpw workers. Cathy Ann gave a very detailed presentation and showed we could plug this year and next year's budget gap without laying off these people. Let's not let Leo's crazy remarks distract us. He's a moron and he is taking money from Hess. In fact the only councilor that makes Leo look like a genius is Pat Casey. How do we keep electing these bozos?

shamrock said...

Yes, I don't mean to minimize the main isssue of the evening but this LNG thing is pretty notable - Sadly Leo was suggesting that LNG would be a means of paying for the police and fire and I cannot get behind that idea. Cathy Ann's suggestions were terrific! And seemingly feasible, hopefully the Mayor's office gets on board.

If Cathy's suggestions are viable, as they appeared to be, I cannot think of any legitimate reason the Mayor could ignore them...

Anonymous said...

Yes i am Micheal Herren and yes i am the son of former state rep Al Herren Charlotte.I Know that you think i am censored doing my job at WSAR that is simply not true.Nobody at WSAR has ever told me what to talk about or who to support not management not ownership has ever done that to me or any other talk personality that i have seen.The only time anybody gets involved is if its overkill on a particular public official or issue and by overkill i mean days of dicussion.Also if you know and respect my prents you would realize that i would never comprimise my integrity on any issue.People have confused my support on the radio of Bob Correiaas a matter of company policy again it is not.It is about respect for the Office and the hardwork it takes to get there i have seen that up close and personal with my father.I believe strongly that this mayor was being choked by a culture of negativity spurned on by a dying desperate newspaper who by the way endorsed him a yr ago.These are difficult times for everyone especially our elected officials and although they have made mistakes they need to be given room to do the job and not be drowned by negative press. As far as the new LNG proposal by coucilor Pelletier I think its Shameful and will be one of the strongest opponents of Leos latest !!You will soon see and hear.I Love Fall River I am Proud of where i am From and i will never sell its soul to the sharks that are circling.We may not agree on some issues and you may not like my radio show but hopefully we can stand together for this fight.You cant count on me!!

Anonymous said...

I can, Bob didn't think of them...

Anonymous said...

It bothers me when people, especially someone in the media, says that the media should let the politicians "do their jobs."

Some say the Herald News has been negative. I call that being critical. There is a difference.

A few years ago the national media stopped being critical and let the politicians "do their jobs" and it led to an unnecessary war in Iraq.

The media is not a cheerleader for the government.

While WSAR may not give directives to its employees to be pro-Correia, Bernie Sullivan had an editorial that said that the Herald News would be critical of Mayor Correia even if he saved a child from a burning building.

Perhaps the Herald News could tone its criticism down, but WSAR has to step its criticism up because it has not called the Mayor out or acknowledged a myriad of mistakes.

I like the previous comment by the Real Michael Herren. As someone who has lived the life of a political family, Herren offers great insight. On the other hand, because Herren knows every politician so well, it appears difficult for him to be critical of his friends.

For those that don't know the politicians personally, perhaps it is too easy for us to criticize them and we too would not be so critical if we did know them and they were our friends.

While politicians have to "do their jobs," we as citizens also have to do our jobs and remained informed. Sometimes that means having to be critical of our elected leaders.

Anonymous said...

Critical is OK but Headline after Headline Editorial after Edittorial undermines the basic public trust and leads to anxiety and panic which lead to terrible ideas like LNG in Fall River.Lets be honest the financial problems we are going through are not unique to Fall River.They are nation wide .Now is a time to stop hating and start negotiating .

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding me? You people need to read Herren's posts on this thread and reconcile it what he and WSAR have actually done in recent months. The fact is, he and the owners at WSAR have been shameless hacks in their support of Correia in every possible way.

From what I've read, the only thing the newspaper did was expose Correia for all of his blunders. That led to the brothers Karam and Mike Herren attempting to make the issue abaout the HN with their foolish "editorials" read by Bernie Sullivan. And, in what was a surprise to almost no one, WSAR couldn't control themselves. It culminated with the HN's publisher handing WSAR their ass after the radio station went too far with the last of their incredibly immature "editorials".

How embarrassing it must have beeen for the Karams, Herren and Sullivan to read that front page letter by Mr. Burke! You reap what you sew, boys. LOL

Back to the loudmouth.

Mike Herren is a man of virtually no substance. His station is embroiled in a harrassment lawsuit by a former on-air personality because of him. Does anyone really think Mike Herren didn't harrass the woman? The man is a bully. He always has been. This time, he appears to have bullied the wrong person. It could end up being expensive for him and his bosses.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of Fall Riverites who could tell you first-hand what kind of thug Mike Herren is. Substance abuse, assault, you name it - that's the legacy of Mike Herren in Fall River.

I don't gove a rat's ass how often or loudly he proclaims his love for Fall River. What he has actually done and how he has actually behaved are what counts. With his train wreck of a past, including his RECENT past, he in no way deserves any standing in Fall River. Just because the brothers of his former basketball coach give him a microphone doesn't mean he has, or deserves, standing. Standing is something you earn. He falls woefully short in that regard. The best description I've heard is that he's "a low-class Jerry Springer." No class would be more like it.

Mike Herren is a thug who is incapable of sustaining any kind of meaningful contribution to society. He will continue to be a man who peaked as a high school basketball plaayer, and who since those glory days has been a drain on community resources for public safety and social services.

With his lengthy track record of law-breaking, sucker-punching and substance-abusing behaviors, it will take YEARS of him conducting himself in accordance with minimal societal standards before I'll be willing to consider one damn thing he has to say.

Simply stated, Mike Herren does not merit being be listened to. Not now, and not for a long, long time.

Anonymous said...

This just in. Fall River places second in MA unemployment (not including the seasonal unemployment hotspots of the upper cape) to perennial shithole Lawrence. 15.9% to 16.0%

Jobs, you want jobs creation from these barely literate morons? Good luck. Your local unemployment rate is proudly brought to you by the Fiolas, Correias, Carlon Viveiroses, Lamberts, Karams, and everyone else who has done such an excellent job over the past thirty years of moving our local economy forward. Thank You.

http://lmi2.detma.org/lmi/town_comparison.asp

Anonymous said...

Fall River's unemployment can be blamed on the people of Fall River just as much:

- half of the residents don't finish high school;

- the city has clung to an industry (manufacturing) that died long ago;

- we teach people about getting a job, not choosing a career;

- the city's social conservatism prevents it from overcoming many of its problems, and is reflected in its inability to attract greater numbers of progressive-minded residents; and

- we've compromised the beauty of this city by "de-greening" it -- paving lawns for parking, squeezing in cheap, box-style houses wherever there is a patch of land and desecrating our architecture by slathering it in vinyl.

Fall River's negative, hard and gritty image is difficult to erase when Pelletier and the listeners of WSAR are representing Fall River to the outside world.

And another thing... Fall River's dialect has become even more pronounced over the years and does nothing to help the city's image. It may be a novelty for Emeril, but there's nothing more grating than listening to a hardcore Fall River accent for more than a few minutes. The people in Fall River are not necessarily stupid, but they wear sounding stupid like a badge of honor. It's yet another contributing factor to the ugliness that has become Fall River.

Anonymous said...

Real Mike, I appreciate your civil comments but look at your last line, I hope that wasn't a fruedian slip !!

:)



.You cant count on me!!

Anonymous said...

I agree with 5:59. It would be dumb to think all of a sudden that Hurricane is going to really help on anything. Leopards don't change their spots! I for one will wait and see if he does anything and can keep it up.

Anonymous said...

you bloggers obviously have personal reasons for not liking mr herren. you need to put those aside and listen to him more and realize that he is one of the few people that politicians and union leaders talk to. he knows more about this city and how it is run then some of our most coveted politicians.

when you put comments like
"With his lengthy track record of law-breaking, sucker-punching and substance-abusing behaviors, it will take YEARS of him conducting himself in accordance with minimal societal standards before I'll be willing to consider one damn thing he has to say."

it is clear that your personal vendetta is your earmuffs for listening to what mike herren has to say.

thank you and start realizing that your part of the problem in this city. negativity in the publics opinion is half the reason why no one ever succeeds from this place

Anonymous said...

If too many critical Herald News headlines and editorials undermine the public trust, doesn't too few critical WSAR editorials also undermine the public trust?

I agree with Anon 5:59, that all the Herald News was doing was expose all of the blunders. Luckily for Mayor Correia, he has the equivalent of Fox News in Somerset who simply allow politicians to "do their jobs."

We all know that the Herald News endorsed Bob Correia in 2007. The Herald News also gave Mayor Correia a favorable review after the first 100 days. The fact that the two are at odds now demonstrates just how much Bob Correia has underperformed the expectations.

Anonymous said...

whether you take Mike Herren seriously or not is irevelant his show is clearly the most popular outlet in the southcoast if its not for you than turn it off simple.As far as your lifetime critique of Herren i feel that is flawed as well .Criminal records are public information Mr Herren has no record and could pass every Cori inquiry that the state of Mass has to offer.On the radio Mike is very clear about his sins and his flaws to his audience he doesnt try to a squeaky clean generic personality.Mike doesnt have to prove anything to you because he proves it everyday on the radio to me and a much larger audience than anyone else .There is no doubt in my mind that Mike will lead this newest fight against LNG and Leo.

Anonymous said...

To 11:47: I guess you'd listen to Jeffrey Dahmer if he sounded okay. LMAO Onviously, a person's past behavior doesn't matter to you.

Well, it matters to me! It's the best predictor there is when determining if someone merits respect.

Anonymous said...

My final word on The Hurricane: His main problem is that he takes himself, and his show, WAY too seriously. Has anyone ever heard his sports show? That one's actually pretty good because he speaks about things he's knowledgeable about and has a passion for. Not half bad radio. But then he does the Highway Home and he tries SO hard to get people to take him seriously as a political pundit, but everytime he tries to speak about a political issue or current event he just OBVIOUSLY has no idea what he's talking about, even making stuff up just to try to justify himself ("UH, it's rent controlled, right Cathy?" "Actually, no, you're way off, Hurricane..." "Right, like I said, rent controlled"). He refuses to accept any criticism or when people try to correct him or give him facts they become "Wack Jobs" and "Morons".

My suggestion to Mike Herren and then I'm done: Play to your strengths. Stop trying to be something your not and just give us the guy everybody loves to hear tell Glory Days stories down at "da baah". Give us less Rush Limbaugh & Bill O'Reilly and give us more Howard Stern and Opie & Anthony. Get a sidekick for comedy relief. Bring on a writer to come up with some skits and bits for you. When people take you to task for whatever crap you may have done in the past, play it up! Give us an over-the-top, larger than life persona rather than threatening us with a "crime spree" or "Sucka Punches". You could be The Hurricane: Hero of the People, fighting injustices one suckerpunch at a time (you could even have the "Sucker Punch of the Day, and please start with Leo!) Have some friggin FUN with it instead of pretending to be the last word on SouthCoast Politics. Nobody takes WSAR seriously anymore. I think we'd all rather be laughing WITH you than AT you...

That being said, we're all in deep trouble with LNG on the horizon. This is not a "short term" fix, this a HUGE serious issue that will have reprecussions on our children's children. It's bad enough those grandkids will be stuck paying for the current stimulus plan, let's not leave them an environmental catastrophe to deal with as well. It's not about whether it's going to blow up in our faces, I'm not too worried about that. But please read up on what's going to take to put this thing in place. We're talking DESTRUCTION of the precious "Waterfront" everyone says is so instrumental to our economic growth. Do we really want to rob Peter's long term investments to pay for Paul's quick fix band-aid solution. I hope not, I truly do.

Anonymous said...

This is the the way the city operates. Unqualified people sitting in the elected seats and even more crooked ignorant people circling and looking to take their place. What a bunch of crap! At this point I feel there is no hope for our long term future. Time to move.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
shamrock said...

Sorry 18:24 That was a bit much with the personal attack but I hate to delete completely so here you are without the namecalling:

Anonymous said...
Did any of you hear **** Herren on the radio this afternoonn when Hague was on the phone. Herren *** can't make an argument without talking over someone. If you heard it, you can absolutely understand the validity of the harrassment charge against him and the station.
****
****
****
****

Now there's an acorn that fell straight down!

11 March, 2009 18:24

shamrock said...

I actually enjoyed the parts of Herren's show that I heard today. He is clearly passionate about this issue. He and I are finally on the same side of an issue...perhaps that is why I enjoyed hearing him yell about it. I have been a fan of Leo over the past year but that ended last night and I was glad to hear those sentiments echoed on the radio today.

Anonymous said...

See Shamrock, that's what I'm saying. Regardless to his life off the air or personal opinions of him, the guy CAN be entertaining on the mic. He just needs the right material, and "Meet the Press with Michael Herren" is not where it's at.

Anonymous said...

Every Saint has a Past, Every Sinner has a Future!

The Hurricane has come out fighting on the right side of the tracks...

That in itself says a lot about his character today, that's what really counts!

LNG, not for Me!

Moxie

Anonymous said...

WSAR spent the last four years of the Lambert administration bashing him om a daily basis. It was almost cruel!!! The man couldn't fart without WSAR commenting on it. So please don't think we are sooo stupid we don't know the radio station will never say anything negative about this mayor! Furthermore a NEWSpaper is suppose to question all decisions made whether right or wrong. Actually this mayor has done 30% and 70% bad in my opinion and personally the rest of the cities from what I hear in the local eateries and clubs. He is a very disliked mayor! He really needs a pr firm instead of all those lawyers. The bias I see is that WSAR NEVER calls him out when he does wrong!!! They ALWAYS give him softball questions. I personally stopped listening to Barry Richards after he was sooo rude to the former mayor. Thing are worst now and a lot of it is this mayors lack of communication skills.

Anonymous said...

Oh and the mayor fired all Dept. heads on the first day!!!! These are the people who take the bullet for you!!!!! I would like to know who's great advice that was? It might have been Alan silvias. the city is the biggest employer in the city and he just pissed off 70% of his voters.

Anonymous said...

Not a problem, Shamrock. It's your blog and I have no issue with your editing of my posts. I agree that my comments were over-thr-top. They were spurred by the thought of level-headed people giving so little as one ounce of credibility to Mike Herren. He doesn't deserve it. His on-air tirade against Hague perfectly illustrates why he shouldn't be given serious attention by any considered individual.

Mike Herrfen is a bully and a thug. He has not sustained his personal behavior in an appropriate fashion (even by the lowest possible societal standards) for any meaningful period of time.

Look at what he is doing, people. He is latchcing onto the LNG issue and riding the coattails of those who have done very real and incredibly meaningful work on the issue. Herren exemplifies the laughable definition of a politician - "See which way the crowd's going, then run like hell to get out front."

He has absoutely no shame. He is of very poor character. He is abusive to others. I believe he did harrass a former WSAR employee. He is incapable of debate based on knowledge of facts, because he possesses little factual knowledge. When taken to task by someone who is informed and articulate, Mike Herren screams, rants, yells and talks over them.

I choose my words carefully in this paragraph, because I want them to ring clear and true. Mike Herren is a jerk. There are many who have had the misfortune of crossing paths with him who know first-hand that he is a bully and a thug. He is of minimal substance and his behavior as a member of society should rightfully serve to strip him of any standing in the community.

Consider the following statement for what it truly means: Fall River suffers greatly from the likes of Mike Herren being given standing. He doesn't deserve it. Worse, he is not capable of doing anything good with it. But he can - and I believe does - do great harm. Who from outside of our community will ever take us seriously while we allow the likes of Mike Herren to be among our standard bearers?

People need to see Mike Herren for what he really is in the fight to stop LNG. He's a carpetbagger who is using the issue for his own selfish reasons. If you welcome him into the issue, you'd do well to remember the old saying, "When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas."

Anonymous said...

You bloggers should spend your energy fighting LNG not Mike Herren. He stated he is in your corner. We need a united front not personal attacks by those with personal agendas. This fight is not with Mike Herren it is with Hess Oil.

Anonymous said...

Do you really think you can trust Mike Herren? There's a bunch of people who would tell you that's not a good idea.

Anonymous said...

The only corner Mike Herren is in is his own. He blantant self promotion on this blog is completley self serving. He is probably eyeballing a city council seat which is why he has decided to try and befiend the blogging community. He has no administative background. The only job he has ever had has been at WSAR. What is his campagin slogan? "I can pass a CORI"

Anonymous said...

I believe strongly that this mayor was being choked by a culture of negativity spurned on by a dying desperate newspaper who by the way endorsed him a yr ago.These are difficult times for everyone especially


Dying is right. I adverise my business in THe Herald and you can make your own price with the ad reps because no one is buying

shamrock said...

"I believe strongly that this mayor was being choked by a culture of negativity spurned on by a dying desperate newspaper who by the way endorsed him a yr ago.These are difficult times for everyone especially"

What a lame-ass excuse! "I am not doing a good job because the local newspaper is mean to me." please. Stop doing stupid things and the Herald News will stop reporting them. Grow some thicker skin.