Senior Escape Tunnel Discovered and Closed

Cambridge MA City Government (People's Censorship Republic) discovered an escape tunnel dug under the City Wide Senior Center across from City Hall. The Counter Intelligence Unit of the Department of Inspectional Services suspects the tunnel was used for months by seniors to escape from the city. No one was in the tunnel when tunnel sniffing dogs found the secret entrance in the Senior Center. The Human Rights Commission scheduled an essay writing contest for high school students: "Why Would Anyone Want to Leave Cambridge?" Legal Information Advisers for the Police Department's Civil Rights Division ordered the tunnel immediately shut. One high ranking police official said, "Tunnels are double-edged swords. People can use them to sneak into Cambridge too. What would we do with all of those extra people?" he mused. City Councilors remained silent apparently unaware of the tunnel. One Council research aide requesting that his name not be revealed, wondered why so many seniors disappeared. "Where do all the old people go?" he asked. City Council Diversity officers demanded statistics on escapees. "How many African Americans were allowed to escape? How many gays and lesbians? How many women compared to men?" they asked in their joint press release. The Disability Commission did not inquire if the tunnel was accessible. The Information Czar for Cambridge's Nuclear War Commission wants to see police records about fighting between seniors and high school students. A spokesman for Cambridge seniors explained that local residents stored excess food in the tunnel. One senior who spoke on condition of anonymity said, "The Cambridge Economic Opportunity Council seized our food and gave it to the food bank. We worked hard to get these commodities collecting cans and bottles. The City Manager and the City Council have no compassion for us because they make so much money and get their food for free." The Minister of Information for the DPW said, "That explains where all of the rodents come from. Old people feed them."

Roy Bercaw Speaks to City Council February 12 2007

Speaking as the Chief Ethical Advisor and Ultimate Moral Authority for the Mid Cambridge Chapter of the American Council on Mendacity, Roy Bercaw presents an award to the City as the Most Mendacious City. He comments on the City Manager taking land on Gore Street by eminent domain without and notice to taxpayers. Bercaw asks about Be Curious Day in the city schools.He suggests the only way to rid the city of rodents is by banning people and food. Limiting the city to Biotech Companies and alcohol would work. He reports that the District Attorney issued an opinion that the Green Room where the City Councilors (but no poor citizens) dine on taxpayer dimes, is not part of the Council Chambers for voting. Regarding bicycle racks in Central Square Bercaw suggests removing sidewalks to make room for more racks. He asks why the City Manager asks for over time appropriations for the Water Department for medical expenses. How can he know the future? Bercaw asks what benefits the viewers get for the $850,000 that CCTV gets from the City each year plus private donations.

Old Tot Lot Destroyed, None Available on Broadway

These images show the Tot Lot at CRLS (Cambridge MA public high school) on Broadway between Felton Street and the library construction project, being destroyed. Although the new Tot Lot at the new library campus looks like it is available for use now, it remains inaccessible to the public. The schedule for repairing the old Tot Lot allows for no Tot Lot being available for children and parents for an unknown period of time. Notice in the foreground the mature tree cut down, where only the stump remains. Is this an example of a well-run city by an unelected City Manager?

Jim Shannon May 2009

Jim Shannon, Cambridge City Council observer, and supporter of the City Manager expresses his opinions.

Living in America, Roy Bercaw Guest Host, January 30, 2000

Roy Bercaw, Guest Host of Living in America, discusses the death of a homeless veteran, the Larkin Petition an 18-month moratorium on development in East Cambridge, Michael Sullivan, David Maher, Affordable Housing, Cambridge City Council, Research Assistants for City Councilors, Kenneth Reeves, Council Rules, Sale of Firehouse on Main Street, City Council goals, Timothy Toomey, Anthony Galluccio, Kathy Born, Sanity Cluase, Margery Decker, Gerald Fandetti, Ridding the City of poor People, Swearing In Ceremonies, Church Petition for Housing, Knafel Center, Harvard's influence on Cambridge, Elitism, Donald Trump.

OCT 18, 2004 Roy Bercaw Speaks to City Council

Roy Bercaw expresses his observations regarding the 30 years of power consolidation of the City Manager. He notes that Democracy was set up to spread power among many persons. Cambridge does the exact opposite re-creating a monarchy. Bercaw says the Police Review and Advisory Board is an example. The City Manager ignores laws when they are inconvenient. Bercaw protests $100,000 grants for wasteful projects promoting Cambridge during the Democratic Convention.

POLICE REVIEW BD ORDINANCE HEARING

Roy Bercaw speaks about the Police Review Board Ordinance. The hearing was held on April 7, 2005 at the Cambridge MA City Council Chambers before the Ordinance Committee. Bercaw noted the existing ordinance passed 20 years ago was not being enforced. The hearing was about a City Manager sponsored ordinance. It is the City Council's power to pass ordinances not the City Manager. Bercaw told about police abuses elsewhere and in Cambridge. He mentioned Philip Zimbardo's experiment on power over others. The NYPD recognizes that police need constant scrutiny.

Harvard Trims Loudly

Harvard University landscape contractor uses hand-held gas-powered hedge trimmer. This device was not included in the recent amendment to the noise ordinance for Cambridge, MA. It makes as much noise as a leaf blower, but the elected geniuses of the Cambridge City Council failed to make policy to protect residents from excessive noise. Instead they gave up their policy-making power to the City Manager who's policy is what the landscaping industry wants. Listen to this. I was unable to capture the gas fumes on video tape that came in through the windows to share with you.

OCT 31 2005 Roy Bercaw Speaks to Cambridge MA City Council

Bercaw suggests that instead of killing the rodents that annoy human residents of Cambridge the City's Laboratory Commissioner should collect the rodents and use them for medical research. It will generate income for the city he says. He decries the report from the City Manager regarding the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He says it is nonsense, misleading, false, deficient and obstructs the goals of the council order. He says the City manager prefers to be sued providing funds for plush offices for downtown law firms, and an opulent lifestyles of corporate lawyers. He compares the report to the CIA reports to the Bush administration on WMD and the trip to Niger of Joe Wilson.

Harvard University Signs on City-Owned Street Light poles

The City Manager of Cambridge fined The Riverside Neighborhood Association $300 for posting signs on street light poles that the city purchased from the utility company. Cambridge Chronicle story here
http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/archive/x1319852302
Harvard organizations also post signs on the street light poles in and around their campus. Why is Harvard immune from fines for violations of the same law? Here is the most recent instance of selective enforcement of laws (unequal protection of laws) by the City Manager who runs the city with no oversight. Ordinary citizens have their rights to free expression curbed by public officials while wealthy corporations (Harvard has $35 billion) can ignore the same laws.
[City Ordinance on posting fliers on public property]
Section 9.04.050 Defacing public property.
A. No person shall post or attach, or directly or indirectly cause to be posted or attached in any manner, any handbill, poster, advertisement or notice of any kind on public property except by permission of the City Manager or his designee, or on private property without the consent of the owner or occupant thereof.
B. Any handbill or sign found posted or otherwise affixed on any public property contrary to the provisions of this section may be removed by the Police Department or the Department of Public Works or the Inspectional Services Department.
C. The person or persons responsible for causing the unlawful posting of any notice described herein will be liable for the cost of removal and for the penalties described below. Persons liable under this section include, but are not limited to, any individual, corporation, partnership or other organization whose advertisement, message or information appears on the unlawfully posted notice.
D. Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a fine of three hundred dollars. Each illegally posted notice, advertisement, poster or sign shall be considered a separate violation of this section, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation of this section occurs or continues.
E. As an alternative to the penalty set forth in subsection D, whoever violates any provision of this section shall be penalized by a noncriminal disposition as provided in G.L., c. 40, §21D. For purposes of this section, the following officials shall be enforcing persons: Cambridge Police Officers and designated staff of the Cambridge Department of Public Works and the Inspectional Services Department.
Then noncriminal penalty for the first violation of this section shall be twenty-five dollars; for the second violation, one hundred dollars; and for the third and all subsequent violations, two hundred dollars. (Ord. 1138, 1992)

HARVARD NOISE VIOLATIONS

Cambridge City Noise Ordinance prohibits deliveries after 9:00 PM. Harvard University ignores the city laws and accepts deliveries at all hours long after 9:00 PM. In this brief video clip, you can see trucks at the rear of the Fogg Museum picking up goods and furniture from events at the Fogg on Thursday November 7, 2007 at about 10:30 PM and on Sunday November 11, 2007 at 12:30 AM. The same loading dock is used beginning at 7:00 AM for trash pickups. The trucks warning beepers and banging as they load their goods makes very loud noises after hours. This is a regular occurrence every week.
My repeated complaints to the City officials and to the police dispatchers brought no relief. Often the dispatchers refer the calls to Harvard University police who do not have jurisdiction over City ordinances. It may be intentional by the dispatchers who know that Harvard police cannot do anything. This prevents any enforcement of the noise ordinance. In effect the dispatchers are negating city policy.
But that does not explain why the City Manager does not act to assert his power of enforcement. He is the chief law enforcement officer in the city under state statute. He decides what laws and ordinances he wants the police to enforce and which ones he wants ignored. The City Council makes policy. They permit the Manager to usurp their power by not asserting their authority over the Manager. Thus they make themselves appear to be meaningless officials and spineless by allowing this widespread lack of enforcement of their ordinances. And they wonder why so few people vote.

May 7, 2007: Cambridge City Manager Admits Law Violation

At the Cambridge City Council meeting on May 7, 2007 the City Manager admitted that the city paymaster violated state law in paying city workers. Beginning on September 11, 2001 the city began paying full salary to some city employees activated to military duty. This is in addition to their military pay. This is contrary to state law. As the Manager says in these video clips this is not legal. Councilor Murphy said the same at the April 30, 2007 meeting.
Through some magical act of expeditous bureaucratic activity the Manager ordered a home rule petition drafted by the city attorney. This was done in less than two days and submitted to the City Council the next week (May 7). This is remarkable considering that there are 3 requests awaiting a report from the Manager from 2003, 4 from 2005, 15 from 2006, and 29 from 2007.
Nicholas Tabor, in the Harvard Crimson reported that the City Council voted on April 30, 2007, to approve full pay for police to equalize paying other city employees. But that is not correct. The city cannot pay activated employees full pay without approval from the state legislature. That is why the expedited home rule petition.
Nonetheless the city is violating state law by paying full salary to some city employees who are on active military duty. It is not clear if they are all in combat locations.
On May 8, 2007 the Cambridge Chronicle online reported that the city currently pays the difference between their city salary and their military pay. But that is incorrect. On April 30, 2007 25 city police officers petitioned the Council for equal treatment to get full pay plus their military pay as other city employees are getting now.
That is the reason for the rush to get a home rule petition approved.The City Manager is clearly worried. As he says in these video clips he is not authorized to pay the employees their full salaries as he is doing now. So he is in violation of state laws. Whether or not this will ever be addressed in this lawless state is anyone's guess. I would guess not.
The word "inadvertent" is regularly used when city employees violate laws. The Manager attributes this to "human error," as opposed to computer generated extra pay?
My several complaints about waste of taxpayer funds and abuses to the state Inspector General have been ignored.
The first 30 minutes of the May 7, 2007 Council meeting was not broadcast on cable TV. The Cable Office did not answer my query as to why. No public comment from four citizens was broadcast nor was the special dance exhibition. I attached some footage of the dancers, which I captured at the meeting, after the Manager's comments.