What will Bob's excuse be this time?

Bob's track record for attending debates indicates that he will not be attending any debate this time. His slick new campaign consultant/handler said last week that Correia will attend Thursday nights debate at BCC. However, the Herald News is now reporting that, "Correia has also said he may be unable to attend a second forum scheduled for this Thursday." ...shocker

Just further evidence that Bob Correia doesn't care about the democratic process.

Finally, I question the decision making skills of anyone supporting Bob Correia. Next time they are up for election, I will remember that elected officials such at District Attorney Sam Sutter and Register of Deeds Bernard McDonald actively supported Bob Correia.

The Village Idiot

“If anyone doesn’t understand how critical the rail is to our future there must be something mentally and physically wrong with them,” Correia said. Herald News 8/5/09

So the the South Main library isn't handicap accessible, so Bob originally scheduled his neighborhood meeting in a non handicap accessible building, but this statement takes his disrespect for the disabled to a whole new level.

And in true Bob Correia fashion, at the last neighborhood forum, he refused to back down from his idiotic statement. He has a real knack for making a bad situation worse.

You are probably not feeling too happy after watching that last clip (unless you are Bob Correia). Maybe this will cheer you up; I call it "campaign promise"

The Herald News Makes God Sad --Bernie Sullivan

Bernie Sullivan's weekly "editorials" (listen below) on WSAR just keep getting more foolish. His target this week was the Herald News, the police, Herald News commenters, and things that make God sad (ie the Herald News).

I think perhaps the most egregious lines in his verbal diarrhea were about the police:

"It is not the Mayor who is the problem. Where was the tight bond of brotherhood and sisterhood we hear so much about, when the call came to agree to wage adjustments that would save the jobs of many. They talk of taking a bullet for each other, but I guess that love affair doesn't extend to a pay adjustment"

In my opinion, the Herald News has done a 180. They are reporting in depth, on a variety of news stories, and it no longer pains me to read it. I think the comment section of the online paper is a great outlet for residents to share their thoughts and collaborate with ideas.

Bernie claims that the Herald News has the secret agenda of selling ads to make money...no shit (sorry mom) - that is how they stay in business, dumbass (again).

Is it easier to trust a newspaper whose agenda is selling ads and papers or the local radio station whose owners are trying to promote their political agenda, get their candidates elected, and keep an option to purchase on prime real estate in Fall River?

I'll take the newspaper hocking 'headache medication' any day, Bernie.
_________________________________________________________

"Beyond Reproach" or Caught Rewriting TIF Agreements?

I keep hearing that we should not question the motives, righteousness, virtue, honor, etc of Ken Fiola, executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development. To reiterate some points I have made in the past:

RECAP

• Ken Fiola should not be the treasurer of his wife's campaign because he is functionally/constructively a municipal employee and that is a violation of campaign finance law.
• Ken Fiola, as treasurer, should have recused himself from reviewing and making recommendations in favor of Peabody, where Peabody is a regular contributor to his wife's campaign funding. It is my contention that it is a violation of state ethics rules.

"BREAKING NEWS"

Fiola was clearly pleased to "break the news" on wsar yesterday that Burbank had a potential funding source from a "corporation" that wasn't yet incorporated. Despite the fact that this is legal business practice and that Burbank made no false representations about the fact that their funding was not yet incorporated, the wsar program yesterday with Ken Fiola and Alan Amaral hinted that there was something fraudulent afoot.

So here is my (old) "breaking news" on Mr. Ken "beyond reproach" Fiola who recently recommended the awarding of a TIF (tax increment finance) agreement to yet another company that contributed to his wife's campaign which could result in approximately $240,000 in tax benefits.......He was caught by the city council in 2000 REWRITING TIF agreements AFTER the City Council approved the specific wording of the agreements. Fiola, who gets paid handsomely for his duty of getting "Jobs for Fall River (the actual name of FROED)" rewrote one particular TIF agreement, among others, granting Quaker a 20 year TIF. The council approved of a TIF agreement with Quaker in May 1999. The agreement granted Quaker a 20-year TIF exemption. In return Quaker pledged to build a roughly 358,000-square-foot facility on Jefferson Street, and also to hire 700 new employees. According to Councilor Brian Pearson, the language in the Quaker TIF the state received and approved greatly differed from the TIF agreement the council had authorized earlier. Fiola's erroneously altered wording in the agreement removed the wording the Council had inserted in the agreement stating its "preference" that Quaker use local contractors "who have registered apprenticeship programs with the commonwealth of Massachusetts to encourage the training of a skilled work force." JOBS FOR FALL RIVER ........FAIL

According the the councilors in the same Herald News article, SEVERAL TIF agreements had been changed. Is Ken up to his old tricks again???????????? Nah, he is BEYOND REPROACH

RELATED ARTICLES TO KEN FIOLA REWRITING TIF'S

http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=1171001&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=8

http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=1166953&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=8

City Council President FAIL

While watching the 9/2/08 Fall River City Council meeting, I was struck by the sarcastic comment interjected during business by Council President Joe Camara.



So this article in the Herald News did not surprise me.

I am very interested to see how Joe's new rule is going to work out.

Tom Kozak's Abuse of Power

I love watching city council meetings for many reasons but at the top of that long list is watching Tom Kozak trying to stay awake for the duration. Based on his desire to nap through meetings, he clearly isn't on the Council because of his love for public service.

So why is he on the Council? Former Mayor Lambert and the Herald News seem to indicate that Kozak is on the Council to use his position to get things done to further his own self interest. Referring to Tom Kozak, Mayor Lambert in 2003 said, "I don’t think elected officials should try to use their positions to get things outside the rules, and when that fails, use their position to make threats," said Lambert.

This Herald News article from 2003 (it is actually a good article) tells the tale of Tom Kozak's attempts to muscle his request to get granite curbing installed on Langley street, shortly after he built his new McMansion there, through city hall. When Kozak was told by then director of municipal services Jim Smith that he would have to get on the request list like everyone else, Kozak began threatening Smith's job. Smith wrote that Kozak told him he "used to be able to call up and get sidewalks and other things done" when former City Administrator Robert Connors worked at City Hall prior to Smith’s arrival.

Best quote I have read this month ----

"Unfortunately this has been a pattern of behavior from Councilor Kozak," said Lambert. "I know for a fact at least two or three times when the councilor called and asked for something to be done, and when he was told it could not be done, that department head was told they would pay in appearances before the City Council. That is just not correct," he said.

Perhaps Tom didn't learn a lesson about his wrongdoing in 2003 because he started with his personal demands again in 2006. According to this 2006 Herald News article, "Instead of going through the normal procedure for getting a stop sign installed on his street, City Councilor Thomas Kozak attempted to fast-track the process Tuesday."

Can we PLEASE get him out of office? He never does very well - usually comes in 7th 8th or 9th so it wont take much.....who's with me?!



(please note the second picture in the post below this, it appears as though Kozak got his granite curbing)