Torres' letter to the Council quickly said that he researched the issue and that there is no legal authority to form such a board. Thereby, completely dismissing the Council's desires to form such a board and more importantly, the demands of the citizens to form such a board.
Then on WSAR, Torres defended his decision not make his scheduled appearance by again saying that he had researched the formation of a non-profit board for cable television, it can't be done, there was really nothing to discuss, and that the letter was sufficient.
My question to Torres is: How well did you research this subject Steve Torres, Attorney, bound by ethical cannons, subject to sanctions for malpractice? Did you willfully withhold relevant information from the Council? Did you give bad legal counsel?
I ask because on June 28, 2006, as the Corporation Counsel for Taunton, you formed a non-profit corporation for Taunton, nearly identical to the one being requested by the City Council and the people of Fall River. You even cited the laws that support such a non-profit cable board.
or click here to view http://fliiby.com/file/946927/qfhhv5fuek.html
I know you will attempt to rebut by trying to say that Fall River's "FRG" channel is government only so it is different than Taunton - but the money all comes from the same Comcast money - the money that the non-profit cable board of Taunton controls.
Our operating budget is made possible through an agreement between the City of Taunton and Comcast, providing us with 2% of their net cable revenues. This corporation is overseen by a five member Board of Directors, which is responsible for setting studio policy, and the overall finances of T.C.A.M.Our Executive Director is in charge of the day to day operation of our studio, and determines our programming schedule, the use of our studio and equipment, and all other issues relating to the programs you view on T.C.A.M.http://www.tcamtv.com/
36 comments:
SNAP!
Yesterday during the WSAR Newsroom with Barry Richards, Corporation Counsel Torres said the following:
“The origins of this started when some people wanted to have their own show and they wanted to have it on the government channel instead of the public access channel.”
The statement can be heard at the WSAR Newsroom Podcast 11/10/20 staring at 14:50 mark
That statement is not factual and Corporation Counsel should have had done a better job finding out all the facts. This started because important RDA meetings were not being televised.
"and Corporation Counsel should have had done a better job finding out all the facts"
Anon 13:07... Do you realize who we are speaking of...
All I have to say about Corp Counsel finding out all the facts is:
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
{deep breath}
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
My response childish? Yes, but my point is across now isn't it?
I have no faith in this administration to do the "right" thing.
This leaves the the City Council to attain there own attorney, happens in New Bedford and throughout the commonwealth. Not a big deal to accomplish. This Corp Counsel is the worst I've seen in all my years as a resident. Get your own attorney city council, you'll be better off!!!!
Article II of the corporation papers for the nonprofit cable board in Taunton states:
“as the primary purpose the operation of a community television studio for public, educational, an governmental access”
Isn't that what City Councilor Poulin was basically asking on his resolution that was passed unanimously by the City Council? To have a board to oversee all the public access channels?
I guess that Torres was too busy fighting for the casino that he did not have enough time to do the roper research.
So did Steve Torres lied to the council? And if he did can he be disciplined?
I'm not sure you would characterize it as lying. However, he can't be right in both places can he?
You can form a non-profit board to manage cable money and assignments in Taunton but not in Fall River? Why? Because Steve said so.
And Steve says so because he doesn't want Flanagan to give up the power and control. And the guy that first formed the Government Channel so that he would have total power and put what he wanted on TV? None other than Bob Correia.
Steve Torres is the new Bob Correia and Will Flanagan is letting mini-Bob run the city. Welcome to Fall River!
If it's not called lying, what would you call it? An intentional misrepresentation of the facts perhaps? Does that sound nicer or more politically correct?
Torres is just doing what he thinks is right. He is an outsider to the city, and he sees things differently. Why are you guys always so negative? I say more power to the Mayor!!!
Right on, Anonymous 17:02! Hell, I say all power to the Mayor!!! Oh, wait...it's Veterans Day; what did they fight for again?
More power for the Mayor? LOL
Sarcasm is cool.
Fall River already has a strong mayor form of government, much more power than the mayor of New Bedford although Scott Lang seems to be much more competent then Will Flanagan. Maybe all the power is going to Flanagan's head and that's why he thinks he could run against Scott Brown for U.S. Senate. He needs a reality check real, real bad.
The Mayor call this just more "chatter" from the minority in the city.
The job of the corporation counsel is not to do what HE thinks is right but was is LEGAL. The council didn't ask for his PERSONAL opinion. He's not the policy maker, just the adviser.
Blaming Bob Correia is so easy and everyone loves to do that because it deflects from the problems at hand. He had the fortitude to make a decision and establish the channel but wasn't given enough time to finish the job. Now Flanagan can't make a decision and has Torres put together a letter that isn't even good to wipe u know what. I would be ashamed to put my name to a letter like this one.
Flanagan did make a decision, he made a decision to go against his campaign promise for open and transparent government.
All government meetings, Planning Board, Zoning Board, Redevelopment Authority and any other board should be shown on government television. And they should be shown unedited and uncut? Why? Because we the people need to see what our government and our politicians are up to.
This is the part where Flanagan supporters say well Will wants all the meetings covered and for them to run unedited. Now he does after this whole flap whereas before he didn't want Redevelopment Authority meetings shown. The fact remains that Flanagan still has the ability if he wants to say cover this meeting and not that meeting or edit that question out of that meeting. If he has no intention of using that ability to do anything wrong then why not simply give up the power and end the debate? Take away the government's direct control over the government channel. People have said it a million times, government tv means the station shows government meetings not that the government controls the television channel. Why? Because that's the way it should work in America.
Because residents complained, the ZBA and RDA meetings along with subcommittee meetings are now being televised. But the Planning Board and Licensing Board meetings are not televised. Also, there other boards that have not been televised. The priority of the government channel is to televise all city meetings first.
All the other stuff being current televised on FRGTV, that are not city meetings, should not be televised unless all city meetings are being televised. All the resources at FRGTV should concentrate on recording the city meetings first.
This issue will all be dead before too long. The Flanagan Times a.k.a. The Herald News will kill it and even though Torres threatened WSAR in one of his rants one of his buddies from Taunton is the afternoon talk show host who already called in during another talk show hosts' time spot to defend the bs letter that Torres gave to the councilors.
Since the radio and newspaper are fine with government controlled television they should just cede control over their operations to Flanagan too. I guess you could argue that some of them already have.
In defense of the Sterile News I believe they got to a point where big 'ol Bob Correia was not even calling them back. Flanagan it seems returns their calls so now there is a huge lovefest going on.
It's like when people vote for Leo Pelletier because he fixed their pothole, forget the fact that the guy can't converse all that intelligently on major issues like jobs, crime or education. Because this mayor has made himself more accessible then Bob the newspaper is willing to lose sight of whether or not he is tackling big picture issues. When was the last time you read an editorial on the casino issue right? No legal gaming in the state, Flanagan presses forward anyway full steam ahead, wants sovereign nation status for the tribe so basically wants to give away the store and gets a free pass from the media. Ridiculous.
Fall River lost the new Meditech site to Freetown which most definitely could've been placed in that biopark/life science park and no peep from the Sterile News, instead they write editorials about pulled pork shacks. Unbelievable. Hell, we've probably already lost the UMass bioprocessing facility as well. I guess they are buying time to announce their move outside of Fall River. If Lang and New Bedford get it I know I will be pissed at Flanagan even more and at the media for covering up all his crap moves on this issue.
Anon 12:11 - Thanks for bringing up Torres' tirade on WSAR, where he threatened to call their advertisers. I am not sure I ever addressed that foolishness. Torres tinkled all over the 1st Amendment that day. Torres is a government official. As a government official, Torres threatened financial harm to someone for exercising their freedom of speech. More shenanigans like that and he will find himself on the wrong end of yet another lawsuit.
This will only die if the people of Fall River dont speak up.
Plus WSAR seems to have a host that is not afraid of Torres
Stylos doesn't seem to be afraid of Torres but the George Whatshisname guy seems like he might be an old Torres buddy from Taunton. And who knows about the rest of the crew there as SAR, this didn't really seem to make a splash on the news.
The way I read the Torres letter it is incredibly misleading, the guy forms a non-profit to manage public access channel money in Taunton but can't form a non-profit to manage government channel money in Fall River. What the freak is the difference besides none at all? Any respectable media outlet would be all over this. Unfortunately none such outlets exist in Fall River.
Pretty weird that you have media outlets that seem to be in favor of the government controlling television channels. I wonder how they'd feel if Flanagan decided to create a government operated newspaper or radio station? I'd bet they would wake up from their slumber at that point.
Alex Stylos has finally brought credibility to the 3 to 6 pm slot on WSAR. He is not afraid of speaking the truth. He brought this issue to the forefront after he saw residents speaking during Citizen Input. And to be fair to WSAR they did play Torres statement, which this started because some people wanted to have their show on FRGTV, every 30 minutes whenever they did the news.
No one ever wanted to have a show on FRGTV. At best, people wanted FRGTV to air meetings that FRGTV did not tape, and that citizens had taped themselves. At one point, Flanagan said that meetings taped by citizens could air on FRGTV as long as it covered the entire meeting and was unedited. Only later did Flanagan permit FRGTV to expand its coverage of government meetings.
So, it is untrue when Torres says that this started when people wanted a show on FRGTV.
Speaking of transparency,. and the mayor raising money to run for senate
Has anyone seen this information on the city website?
Campaign finance changes
effective Jan. 1, 2010
The primary purpose of
the campaign finance law
is to provide public disclosure
of money raised and
expenditures made to
influence Massachusetts
elections, with the goal of
transparency in the electoral
process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posting municipal campaign
finance reports:
Amends Section 26 to require
that, within 30 days after the
filing deadline, all campaign
finance reports required to
be filed with the city or
town clerk shall be made
available for viewing on the
Web site of the municipality
if the report discloses that a
candidate or committee
filing a report has received
contributions or made expenditures
in excess of
$1,000 during a reporting
period or incurred liabilities
or acquired or disposed of
assets in excess of $1,000
during a reporting period
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
```````````````````````````
Posting Reports
Local election officials will
begin the procedure of
scanning and posting all
campaign finance reports on
municipal Web sites within
30 days of a filing deadline
if $1,000 is raised or spent
in a reporting period.
This requirement is mandated
only if the town or
city hosts a municipal Web
site. Election officials also
have the option to post all
reports, even if the $1,000
threshold is not reached.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mayoral Reporting
Mayoral candidates in cities
with populations between
40,000 and
100,000 will begin reporting
electronically with
OCPF if they can reasonably
expect to raise or
spend more than $5,000
in an election cycle (most
cities have two-year election
cycles, though some
have four).
Speaking of transparency,. and the mayor raising money to run for senate
Has anyone seen this information on the city website?
Campaign finance changes
effective Jan. 1, 2010
The primary purpose of
the campaign finance law
is to provide public disclosure
of money raised and
expenditures made to
influence Massachusetts
elections, with the goal of
transparency in the electoral
process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posting municipal campaign
finance reports:
Amends Section 26 to require
that, within 30 days after the
filing deadline, all campaign
finance reports required to
be filed with the city or
town clerk shall be made
available for viewing on the
Web site of the municipality
if the report discloses that a
candidate or committee
filing a report has received
contributions or made expenditures
in excess of
$1,000 during a reporting
period or incurred liabilities
or acquired or disposed of
assets in excess of $1,000
during a reporting period
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
```````````````````````````
Posting Reports
Local election officials will
begin the procedure of
scanning and posting all
campaign finance reports on
municipal Web sites within
30 days of a filing deadline
if $1,000 is raised or spent
in a reporting period.
This requirement is mandated
only if the town or
city hosts a municipal Web
site. Election officials also
have the option to post all
reports, even if the $1,000
threshold is not reached.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mayoral Reporting
Mayoral candidates in cities
with populations between
40,000 and
100,000 will begin reporting
electronically with
OCPF if they can reasonably
expect to raise or
spend more than $5,000
in an election cycle (most
cities have two-year election
cycles, though some
have four).
sound familiar?
City attorney mulls mayoral runBy Michael Holtzman
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Nov 10, 2008 @ 08:54 PM
Fall River — William A. Flanagan, a 28-year-old lawyer with government experience, is seriously considering running against Mayor Robert Correia.
He cited needed changes and his reaction to Correia’s first year in office for running.
“I am not happy with the way the city is being run,” Flanagan said after criticizing the stormwater fee system instituted this year. He called them “invalid and unfair.”
“It’s these types of issues that are going to force me into the race and make me declare my candidacy for mayor,” he said.
“I’m forming an exploratory committee and taking a close look at the issues. If I feel I can benefit the city in any way, I will declare myself a candidate for mayor,” Flanagan said Monday.
Flanagan has played key roles for state Rep. David Sullivan in the legislator’s last two campaigns — Sullivan lost to Correia by a wide margin for mayor in 2007 and was re-elected to the Legislature this fall.
Flanagan, in his early 20s, ran unsuccessfully for School Committee in 2001 and 2003.
The lifelong city resident is the first to express public interest in running next year against Correia, who served for 30 years as a state representative before becoming mayor.
He plans to seek a second two-year term. “God willing, I’ll be on the ballot,” Correia said.
Five well-known candidates who ran the against Correia, including Sullivan, have indicated they won’t run again.
“Volunteering in the mayoral race and the last election allowed me to stay active, be abreast of the issues and meet people ... to give me an indication of where the city is and where it needs to go,” Flanagan said.
He’s chairman of the Ward 8 Democratic City Committee.
Several weeks ago, Flanagan rejoined the city of Taunton’s law department as assistant city solicitor, a job he held for 1½ years after receiving his law degree. In January 2007 he joined Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter as an assistant district attorney, where he worked until recently.
Flanagan earned his law degree from Roger Williams University and passed the state bar exam in 2005. He holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a focus on criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, graduating magna cum laude.
He’s married to the former Marlene Nunes, a lifelong city resident.
Five well-known candidates who ran against Correia, including Sullivan, have indicated they won’t run again.
Key part of that article is Whitty, Alves, Sullivan, Poulin and Kilby all said they wouldn't run again for mayor leaving Flanagan with a relatively non-competitive 2009 mayoral field. Have any of those 5 denied that they would run this time around? The field of Ray Hague, Steve Camara and multiple time mayoral campaign loser Cathy Ann Viveiros did not make it that competitive of a field in 2009.
Flangan thinking he can run for Senate when you need millions to run for Senate seems pretty arrogant and it seems that he doesn't realize while what he accomplished was signficant it was a great example of right place, right time and a weak mayoral field.
If Flanagan has a draft Flanagan for Senate page on facebook and he is going to run for Senate then where are the draft Alves or draft Poulin or draft Whitty or draft Sullivan or draft Kilby for mayor pages? Any one of those 5 runs and Flanagan has a race on his hands.
Another story on this issue in today's Herald. Flanagan is defending himself now but I have to say after reading it that the defense seems pretty weak.
so the casino issue can't go on the ballott because it could cost 30k which the wampanoags said they will pay, but we can spend 10 that on legal fees?
Lets vote and get it over with.
why does wsar have an on line poll on who would you vote for mayor if flanagan doesn't run?
Carole Fiola ??
Is Poulin banned from being a response in the wsar online poll on top of being banned from the radio station, lol?
Why don't you start a draft Poulin for Mayor 2011 facebook page Anon?
Seems like everyone is starting those types of pages these days, lmao. Or a draft Camara or Pereira or Kilby page or Mickey Mouse or whoever the hell you want that you think would be a better choice over Flanny.
How about a draft ANYBODY BUT WILL page ? or a STOP Bob JR page?
The art of graffiti by the propaganda mayor Flanagan:
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7748461/
This Corp Counsel could be the worst I've noticed in all my many years like a resident.
When you have nothing to do or unhappy? What should you do to spend the free time? How about the game? like to get Buy RS Gold in WOW, and how to have theRS Goldwith less money, is there anyway to get the for us? We need to think about this.
Post a Comment