58 Lawmakers Republican and Democrat alike STRONGLY OPPOSING Attorney Generals decision

Angered by her announcement last week that her office will step up its enforcement of the state's assault weapons ban, a bipartisan group of 58 lawmakers sent Attorney General Maura Healey a letter over the weekend opposing "in the strongest possible terms" her decision and the way she announced it.

Healey last week announced that she will crack down on enforcement of the state's 1998 assault weapons ban, specifically focusing on what she called "copycat" versions or duplicates of firearms banned under that law.

A gun qualifies as a forbidden copycat if it is "substantially similar in construction and configuration" to one of the banned guns or has interchangeable key parts, according to the enforcement notice.

"For the last 18 years, the law has been implemented and enforced consistently, both by your office and your predecessors," the legislators wrote. "Your new directive, which has been presented by your office as nothing more than a closing of 'loopholes' in the current law, appears in fact to be much more than that: the enforcement of a whole new law that unfairly infringes on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners in Massachusetts."

Healey's announcement last week "raises far more questions than it answers," including why no action has been undertaken by any attorney general to stop the sale of these "copycat" weapons if they are indeed banned by the 1998 law, the lawmakers wrote.

"As our Enforcement Notice made clear, copycat assault weapons are illegal and have been in Massachusetts since 1998. For far too long, the gun industry has been allowed to flout our state assault ban," Healey spokeswoman Jillian Fennimore said in a statement. "Claims that we are changing the law and taking guns away from law-abiding citizens are inaccurate and misinformed. Our office will continue to work with the gun industry, including manufacturers and dealers, so they understand the law and comply with it."

Led by House Minority Leader Brad Jones and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, the letter was circulated Friday and Saturday for lawmakers' signatures. All 40 of the Legislature's Republicans signed and 18 Democrats — four in the Senate and 14 in the House — did as well. The letter was sent to Healey's office over the weekend.

The letter criticized Healey, too, for the way she went about issuing the enforcement notice. Jones and other lawmakers said they first heard about Healey's decision in the media and the next day got an email from the attorney general's office explaining it.

"We are particularly concerned that your Enforcement Notice was issued unilaterally, with very little, if any, advance notice for licensed gun dealers and lawful gun owners to adequately prepare for this new interpretation of the 1998 assault weapons law," the elected officials wrote.

Jones said Healey's announcement was "clearly in the works" for some time, citing a press release that featured quotes from members of Congress and others who would have required advance notice to be able to comment on the announcement. Leaving the Legislature in the dark has angered even some Democrats who otherwise support Healey's actions, Jones said.

"She should have proposed legislation and said, 'Here is the problem, we want to solve this problem.' We've had attorney generals of her party — and she's worked in the AG's office — and this wasn't an issue. We had eight years of a Democratic governor and this wasn't an issue, and we just did a major gun bill in 2014 and this issue wasn't debated," Jones told the News Service on Monday. "This seems much more politically calculated to take advantage of the moment, if you will, of some of the tragedies that have unfolded nationally or beyond."

If Healey were to file legislation to address the issue of duplicate or "copycat" firearms, lawmakers said they would be happy to consider it and vet it through the committee process.

"We want to be clear that we are not opposed to revisiting the state's gun laws periodically to ensure that they are up-to-date and being properly enforced," legislators wrote in the letter. "However, we believe strongly that any such review should be accompanied by a rigorous debate of the Legislature, with full public input, before any changes are made to ensure that lawful gun owners have a clear understanding of the law and how it will be enforced."

As hundreds of gun rights activists rallied outside the State House on Saturday, Sen. Donald Humason of Westfield and Rep. Marc Lombardo of Billerica filed legislation to clarify or eliminate the attorney general's authority to promulgate regulations for the sale of firearms.

Joining the Legislature's 40 Republicans in signing the letter were Democratic Sens. Anne Gobi, Jennifer Flanagan, James Timilty and Michael Moore, and Reps. James Dwyer, Colleen Garry, Brian Mannal, Alan Silvia, Thomas Golden, Thomas Clater, Jonathan Zlotnick, John Velis, Josh Cutler, James Arciero, Stephan Hay, Dave Nangle, Paul McMurtry and Stephen Kulik.

Templeton Kerfuffles

Templeton Kerfuffles

The FY 17 budget will need to be revamped and then re-voted at special town meeting this fall..maybe.

The selectmen began the joint meeting( 7.21.16) by discussing the elephant in the room; that elephant being the "eye-popping" deficit from FY 13. Pick a figure- the $820,010.19 amount or the amount with the reduction in state aid payment March 2013 not received because Schedule A was not reported to the DOR - that figure is $1,045,471.19

Continue that meeting with discussion about handing out raises in FY 17, some as high as 15% which will need to be approved at the special town meeting in the Fall. 

How will the selectmen explain giving raises when there is a million dollar deficit for FY 13?

*****************************************

Vacant positions -

HR assistant in the BOS office

Fire Chief - hopefully a highly qualified paramedic fire chief who lives within 15 miles of Baptist Common Road

Interim Town Administrator

FT town administrator

Fire chief contract not renewed - no reason given.  To maintain ALS service 14 hours per 24 hour period and increase ALS to 16 hours out of 24 hours by April 2017. 

Fluoride intensifies lead's poisonous effects on the brain

Fluoride intensifies lead's poisonous effects on the brain

NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While the nation focuses on the catastrophic health effects caused by Flint Michigan's lead-poisoned drinking water, fluoride chemicals are still purposely added to public water supplies even though studies show they leach lead from water pipes and increase lead levels in children, according to a report from the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). 

Fluorosilicic acid (FSA), a corrosive fluoride byproduct of the phosphate industry, is added to public water supplies, including Flint's, in a failed effort to prevent tooth decay. 

"Studies show that FSA-spiked water is contributing to children's unsafe lead exposures and making the lead crisis worse," says attorney Michael Connett, FAN Executive Director. 

"The nation is rightfully shocked by the lead crisis in Flint and the systematic failure of health authorities to prevent it, but the problem with lead poisoning is not a Flint problem, it's a national problem," Connett adds. 

Lead service pipes were banned in 1986, but America's water infrastructure is still laden with lead-containing pipes and fixtures. The FSA circulating through these aging pipes intensify their corrosion, according to laboratory experiments. 

Studies have found that children living in areas with FSA-treated water have higher levels of lead in their blood. Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that children drinking water treated with FSA and other fluorosilicate chemicals are 20 percent more likely to have dangerous levels of lead in their blood. 

Massachusetts: Attend State House Lobby Day This Saturday! July 30th

view the web version of this email Massachusetts: Attend State House Lobby Day This Saturday! This weekend, the Massachusetts Legislature will adjourn from its 2016 Legislative Session. With only a few days left, the legislature has a final opportunity to enact emergency legislation to curb the Attorney General’s outrageous gun control attempt.  On July 19, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued an “enforcement notice” that greatly expands the Commonwealth’s definition of “assault weapon.”  AG Healey alleges that the ban’s definition of “copy” or “duplicate” “assault weapons” has been misinterpreted for the last 18 years and she is simply the first law enforcement official to discover this incorrect interpretation.  Beyond AG Healey’s obviously incorrect interpretation of the law, her enforcement notice fails to provide an intelligible definition of what will be considered an “assault weapon” by her office.  No explanation is given for how the definition of an “assault weapon” can change as it applies to individual possession, ownership, and transfer versus sales of new firearms by licensed dealers. NRA members and Second Amendment supporters are strongly encouraged to attend the State House Lobby Day.  Use this opportunity to stand up for your Second Amendment rights at the Massachusetts State House on Saturday, July 30, at noon.  Make sure that your lawmakers are aware of your opposition to the AG’s “enforcement notice.”  For more information, please visit the Gun Owners’ Action League’s website. FOLLOW NRA-ILA © 2016 National Rifle Association of America, Institute For Legislative Action. To contact NRA-ILA call 800-392-8683. Address: 11250 Waples Mill Road Fairfax, Virginia 22030.  Please do not reply to this email.  Unsubscribe from this email list | Manage your email preferences  Thank you!

Planning board express concern in heated meeting

A Planning Board  hearing on the new Templeton Elementary School building grew contentious on Tuesday,ending with hints from some members that they may vote to REJECT the project or simply abstaining. An action the chairman Kirk Moschetti called a spineless way out.
One planning board member said he doesn't think questions have been answered adequately.
  Issues with traffic flow and other issues with drainage retention ponds are just a coulple things.
   When the idea for another review of traffic was suggested the chairman Moschetti said your wasting the taxpayers money and time. Being prudent and sure prior to a 50 million dollar vote is no waist for a project of this size.
Wouldn't the tax payer want to be sure all the data input was correct and double checked before the town changes the center of Templeton forever?
Would it be a second look may show a problem for traffic flow at a time when people least expected it?
For the school area to go from a population of only 170 to 517 will do doubt cause a higher amount of traffic. As we all have seen in the center of Gardner over the years change after change to curtail traffic flow problems will only alter issues and not correct the main problem of rush hour.
Templeton should be wise to the fact we have but one time to do this right if we don't do this right we won't need a planning board or the Moschetti's power struggle.
With at least 25-40% of the kids being dropped of by the parents that's a busy one way street for 2 hours at least per day. With only a short distance to exit the center of Templeton any one who came from south road to drop the kids will need to go back up Wellington again. Double the flow and on top of that if a backup happens stop all traffic, GRIDLOCK ,MELTDOWNS,BAD HAIR DAYS, not to mention cell phone call to work informing of a late arrival again.
So Mr. chairman who's waisted money is it you speak of and how much would it be for the study by a independent firm.
As for the town not getting a new school as Moschetti sees it.With the 25 million we will need to borrow  we could build our own without the state dictators MSBA.
Templeton has been lured by those who say we have to do it this way or on that property or lose the MSBA support of less than half of the cost.
Without a bond rate or audits complete  the state should be the first to see we do this right or it could all wind up in their laps.
Are we financially fit to do this or did the voters care to think about the towns future status.
Recievership is a very UGLY word to the town of TEMPLETON.

Bicycle Recycle Day

Bicycle Recycle Day

Bring your unwanted bicycle and drop it off at the First Church UCC, 1 Wellington Road, Templeton on Saturday July 30th 9:00 am - noon and it will be reused again.

Mountain, road, BMX, cruiser, old/new, antique, kids, etc. Our aim is to keep bikes from being thrown out when they can be  reused. 

We can pick up bicycles if you  cannot get them there. For questions, please contact Dennis Wood at 508-277-7513.

 

• Elephant sedative abuse: 'Narcan may not save you on this one'

• 
  
• 

   Zoom

  Rayshon LaCarlos Alexander of Columbus, Ohio, who is accused of selling the animal tranquilizer carfentanil to addicts who thought they were getting heroin. File Photo/The Associated Press
• By Kantele Franko
  The Associated Press

  
  Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 2:53 PM
  
  

  COLUMBUS, Ohio — A drug used to sedate elephants and other large animals, 100 times as potent as the fentanyl already escalating the country's heroin troubles, is suspected in spates of overdoses in several states, where authorities say they've found it mixed with or passed off as heroin.

  The appearance of carfentanil, one of the most potent opioids known to investigators, adds another twist to the fight against painkillers in a country already awash in heroin and fentanyl cases.

  "It certainly is a very disturbing trend," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said.

  A man suspected of selling carfentanil as heroin was indicted this week in central Ohio on 20 counts, including murder, in connection with a July 10 death and nine other overdoses that happened within hours of one another. Some of the surviving users told investigators they thought they were buying heroin, but testing found none, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said. The suspect, 36-year-old Rayshon Alexander, pleaded not guilty.

  Investigators are still trying to track down the source of the carfentanil. DeWine said he wasn't aware of any thefts of the drug, which, he noted, could be shipped from abroad or produced here.

  Chinese companies sell carfentanil online, but it hasn't shown up much in the U.S. drug supply, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. There hasn't been much evidence of carfentanil on the streets or in testing related to criminal cases, said agent Rich Isaacson, a spokesman for the DEA's Detroit Division, which covers Ohio.

Bernie Sanders Leaves The Democratic Party

by Tyler Durden

Jul 28, 2016 4:11 PM

Authored by Emily Zanotti, originally posted at HeatSt.com,
The nomination was barely sealed up at the Democratic National Convention before Bernie Sanders, who had campaigned against Hillary Clinton for the party’s nod, went back to being an Independent.

Sanders, who considers himself, officially, an Independent in Congress because his views lean further left than the Democratic party’s platform, caucuses with Democrats. But until declaring an intention to run for the presidency in 2015, he had rarely, if ever, identified as a member of the Democratic Party (he’s been in politics since 1979).

And now, despite pleading with his base to support Hillary, even though they’re concerned that she’s too moderate, Sanders will return to Vermont and to his seat in the Senate, and he’ll do it with no official party affiliation.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was forced to resign as Chairwoman of the DNC after leaked emails revealed she’d tried to keep Sanders from challenging Clinton for the party’s nomination, might even be vindicated—sort of.
Sanders has struggled all along with whether to call himself a Democrat, even ducking the question of his party affiliation, raised by local Vermont media, just days after he declared. He later tried to reinforce that he was, indeed, a Democrat. But Sanders certainly wasn’t a party player—and that’s exactly the concern Wasserman Schultz voiced in the Wikileaks document dump.

In an April 24 email she received with an article describing the ways Sanders felt the DNC was undermining his campaign, she wrote back, “Spoken like someone who has never been a member of the Democratic Party and has no understanding of what we do.”

If Wasserman Schultz’s job was to ensure that a Democrat got the Democratic party nomination, then she might have been doing her job correctly (even if Bernie’s supporters would disagree).
There’s the additional complication, of course, that Wasserman Schultz was a vocal Clinton supporter, a Clinton surrogate and is now a senior adviser to the campaign, as she’s been officially booted from her DNC duties. But if anyone is vindicating her position, it’s Sanders, dumping the Democratic party as soon as it was no longer useful.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Vermont senator announced he will be leaving the Democratic Party when he returns to work in the U.S. Senate this week.

"I was elected as an independent; I’ll stay two years more as an independent," Sanders, 74, said at the Bloomberg Politics breakfast on Tuesday.

As an elected official in Congress, Sanders caucused with the Democrats, but considers himself an independent due to his far-left-leaning views.

When asked if Sanders considers himself a Democrat or an independent after the event, a campaign aide stated, "He ran for president as a Democrat but was elected to a six-year term in the Senate as an independent."

Source: Townhall.com

• Sanders loyalists look to Jill Stein of Mass. Green Party

• 
  


Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate, meets up with protestors during the second day of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. The Associated Press
• 
  

  By The Associated Press

  
  Posted Jul. 27, 2016 at 9:52 AM
  Updated Jul 27, 2016 at 9:53 AM
  
  
  

  PHILADELPHIA — Bernie Sanders loyalists warned that the Democratic Party could rupture over the nomination of Hillary Clinton after a volatile night that saw a large group of Sanders delegates and supporters exit the party's national convention to stage a sit-in at a nearby media tent.

  They rejected Sanders' call for unity even after the Vermont senator took the symbolic step of declaring Clinton the winner of the state-by-state delegate count inside the convention in Philadelphia.

  "I suspect we are witnessing an event that will fundamentally change American politics," said Cory James, 22, a college student from Flint, Michigan, who expects the Democratic Party to break apart over Clinton's victory.

  Thousands of activists have taken to the streets during the convention this week to voice support for Sanders, a liberal U.S. senator, and his progressive agenda. The "Bernie or bust" brigades that have marched across the sun-warped city threatened to disrupt Clinton's moment as the first woman to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.

  "We all have this unrealistic dream that democracy is alive in America," said Debra Dilks, of Boonville, Missouri, who spoke as a protest broke up near Philadelphia's City Hall.

  She said she wasn't sure she would even vote in November.

  "Hillary didn't get the nomination. The nomination was stolen," Dilks said.
  

Water Bans

Water Bans

Let's take a look at a map of communities in Massachusetts with water bans:

 

So if a community is marked orange there is a MANDATORY Water Ban.

According to this map, Templeton has a mandatory water ban.

THE SUBPRIME U.S. ECONOMY

THE SUBPRIME U.S. ECONOMY: Disintegrating Due To Subprime Auto, Housing, Bond And Energy Debt

 -- Published: Friday, 22 July 2016 | Print  | Comment - New! 
By Steve St. Angelo, SRSrocco Report

The U.S. financial system continues to disintegrate even though most Americans hardly notice.  The system is being gutted from the inside out… much the same way a chronic disease weakens a patience even before any symptoms are felt.  However, we are already experiencing painful symptoms as U.S. economic indicators continue to weaken.
Here are just a few of the recent headlines:

Energy Giant Schlumberger Fires Another 8,000 As “Market Conditions Worsen” in Q2

The Financial System Is Breaking Down At An Unimaginable Pace

Potential Crisis Triggers Continue To Pile Up In 2016

Just In Time—–Big Wall Street Housing Investors Cashing-Out On Housing Bubble 2.0

Corporate Bond Defaults Hit Highest Rate Since Financial Crisis 

These are just some of the recent headlines pointing to BIG TROUBLE AHEAD.  However, the U.S. financial system is in dire shape due to the SUBPRIMING of the entire economy.  Today, anyone can purchase a car for little or nothing down and finance it for 84 months.  The U.S. housing market is also in the same predicament.

According to the article, Are We Heading for Another Housing Crisis?, published on May 12th this year:

While the economy and home prices have both rebounded, some people have expressed concern we are headed for a repeat housing bubble. As of January 2016, home prices were rising at a rate twice that of inflation, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index.

What’s more, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have unveiled programs to allow first-time homebuyers to make a purchase with only 3 percent down. Plus, some lenders are using alternate credit scores, which may make loans available to those who can’t get one under conventional credit scoring methods.

So, here we are heading down the same path as we did prior to the 2008 U.S. Investment Banking and Housing collapse.  However, this time around its both a Subprime Auto & Housing problem.  But, that is just part of the Subprime mess.

As most of you already know, many of the world’s sovereign bonds have negative yields.  According to the article, The Financial System Is Breaking Down At An Unimaginable Pace:

In February 2015, the total amount of negative-yielding debt in the world was ‘only’ $3.6 trillion.

A year later in February 2016 it had nearly doubled to $7 trillion.

Now, just five months later, it has nearly doubled again to $13 trillion, up from $11.7 trillion just over two weeks ago.

Think about that: the total sum of negative-yielding debt in the world has increased in the last sixteen days alone by an amount that’s larger than the entire GDP of Russia.

Just like subprime mortgage bonds from ten years ago, these bonds are also toxic securities, since many of are issued by bankrupt governments (like Japan).

Instead of paying subprime home buyers to borrow money, investors are now paying subprime governments.

And just like the build-up to the 2008 subprime crisis, investors are snapping up today’s subprime bonds with frightening enthusiasm.

To see total world negative-yielding debt doubling to $13 trillion in just the past six months is a BLINKING RED LIGHT.

• North Carolina man denied bail in Gardner truck burning



Dennis C. Connor stands with attorney Alexandra Yurgenson during his arraignment Tuesday in Gardner District Court. T&G Photo/Paula Owen
• Correction
  This story has been amended to correct the mane of Mr. Connor's lawyer.
• 
  

  By Paula J. Owen
  Telegram & Gazette Staff
  

  
  Posted Jul. 22, 2016 at 11:10 PM
  Updated Jul 23, 2016 at 2:27 PM
  
  
  

  GARDNER – A North Carolina man who allegedly torched two vehicles and threatened to videotape himself killing his wife and her boyfriend and then post the video on the internet, was held without bail following his dangerousness hearing Friday afternoon.

  Dennis C. Connor, 47, of Balsam Grove, North Carolina, is charged with armed home invasion, two counts of burning a motor vehicle, assault on a family or household member, armed assault in a dwelling, assault with a dangerous weapon and carrying a firearm without a license.

  Police arrested Mr. Connor after he followed his estranged wife from North Carolina to 99 Graham St. and then set his Toyota pickup truck on fire after hitting another vehicle at the residence.

  In Gardner District Court Friday afternoon, Assistant District Attorney Michael Sheridan said witnesses told police Mr. Connor allegedly planned to draw his estranged wife and her boyfriend outside by blowing up the boyfriend’s car, fatally shoot them while videotaping the incident and post the video on YouTube to “show people what happens when you cheat with another man’s wife.” Inside the house police found a 12-gauge shotgun they say Mr. Connor brought with him when he traveled to Gardner.

  By blowing up his wife’s boyfriend’s car, Mr. Sheridan said Mr. Connor planned to allegedly “lure them outside” at which point he allegedly told witnesses he would “put a bullet in his wife’s head as well as her boyfriend’s.” Mr. Connor allegedly told friends and family members that the couple’s son had issues from their relationship and that he had “nothing to live for without his wife,” Mr. Sheridan said.

  Mr. Connor’s son, who declined to give a reporter his name, was in the courtroom. He said he had driven 20 hours to support his father and that the police were only provided his mother’s side of the story. He said Mr. Connor followed his wife to Massachusetts because she had driven the son’s truck from North Carolina without his permission.
  

Meetings the Week of July 25, 2016

Meetings the Week of July 25, 2016

Monday 7/25/16

BOS                          PCS Town Hall*            6:30 pm

Tuesday 7/26/16

Assessors                PCS Town Hall*             4:00 pm

Planning                 PCS Town Hall*             6:30 pm

Elem.School           PCS Town Hall*             6:30 pm     

Wednesday 7/27/16

ZBA                      PCS Town Hall*             6:30 pm

* Pauly Cosentino Sr. Town Hall

On Tuesday, the Planning board will continue the hearing on the STORM WATER issue for the elementary school! 

On Wednesday, the ZBA will discuss permitting for Dunkin Donuts.

GOAL Blog

Official Blog of Gun Owners' Action League

• About GOAL – Join Us!

GOAL Response To AG Healey’s Actions

Massachusetts Attorney General Unilaterally Changes Gun Laws
http://www.mass.gov/ago/public-safety/awbe.html
Without any prior notice or public hearings and while the legislature is on break for national conventions the Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, has issued an “Enforcement Notice” to firearm retailers throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts changing the longstanding definition of so-called “Assault Weapons”.
For nearly 18 years since the passage of the 1998 Gun Control Act firearm retailers, gun owners and state agencies have been operating under the same interpretation. Now, suddenly, without warning or any due process a single person with a clear political agenda decides to change the rules. All Massachusetts residents should be alarmed!
GOAL is currently trying to decipher the enforcement letter, but with as much information that it contains, it is not very clear what it means. Statements such as the following make it very convoluted: “… a weapon is a Copy or Duplicate, for example, if the operating system and firing mechanism of the weapon are based on or otherwise substantially similar to one of the Enumerated Weapons.”
Virtually every semi-automatic that utilizes a detachable magazine has the same operating system or firing mechanism, so what does this mean? The short answer is we simply don’t know. Our best advice to firearm retailers for now is to err on the side of caution. These new rules may cover a lot more than just what we might think.
GOAL is working with people and groups around the State and the nation to clarify these new interpretations and decide the best course of action. One thing is certain that this new interpretation is purely a political stunt and has nothing to do with public safety or real law.
Jim Wallace
Executive Director

DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Announces Resignation Following Wikileaks...

DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Announces Resignation Following Wikileaks Revelations, Will Join Clinton Campaign

by Tyler Durden

Jul 24, 2016 4:01 PM

 

Update 1: In a quite shocking 'beyond caring what the average joe thinks' move, Hillary Clinton just announced that Debbie Wasserman Schultz will serve as an honorary chair on Clinton's campaign.
Hillary Clinton is thanking her "longtime friend" Debbie Wasserman Schultz after the Florida congresswoman's decision to step down as chair of the Democratic National Committee.

"I am grateful to Debbie for getting the Democratic Party to this year's historic convention in Philadelphia, and I know that this week's events will be a success thanks to her hard work and leadership," she said.

"There's simply no one better at taking the fight to the Republicans than Debbie--which is why I am glad that she has agreed to serve as honorary chair of my campaign's 50-state program to gain ground and elect Democrats in every part of the country, and will continue to serve as a surrogate for my campaign nationally, in Florida, and in other key states."

Her full statement::

As ABC reports, Clinton responded after Wasserman Schultz agreed to step down as chair at the end of this week's Democratic National Convention.The move came after the publication last week of some 19,000 hacked emails, some of which suggested the DNC was favoring Clinton during the primary season.

*  *  *

As we detailed earlier, it seem Bernie Sanders has the last laugh, following a CNN report that his archnesmsis, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is resigning as chair at the end of the Democratic National Convention. The DNC's official statement makes no mention of her involvement in smears and collusion exposed by the Wikileaks emails.

As The Washington Post reports, she had faced growing pressure to resign Sunday in the aftermath of the release of thousands of embarrassing internal email exchanges among Democratic officials, an episode that has pitched the party into turmoil on the eve of a convention that was promised to showcase unity.

"Question's", "Question's" "Markel" was considered by Stoneham Selectmen when?

Markel considered by Selectmen

  Thursday, June 2, 2016 

STONEHAM, MA - With the search for a new town administrator now likely to extend into September, the Board of Selectmen might appoint a temporary CEO to manage Stoneham’s day-to-day operations. During a meeting on Tuesday night in Town Hall, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-to-1 in favor of obtaining from a public consulting team a short-list of interim town manager candidates available to hire immediately.
Acknowledging the arrangement is less than ideal — as it eliminates the chance for Town Administrator David Ragucci to work alongside his replacement to facilitate a smoother transition — Selectman Thomas Boussy explained a candidate screening committee likely won’t finish its process until July.
“Friday is the deadline for applications and we need a couple of weeks to [wean out candidates],” said Boussy, who along with Selectmen Chair Ann Marie O’Neill, will serve on the search committee. “You’re probably not going to see a new town administrator until September.”
Ragucci’s contract expires on June 30.
A divided Board of Selectmen voted last February against renewing the former Mayor of Everett’s employment pact, though members George Seibold and Anthony Wilson were not involved in that decision — they were elected last April.
Seibold, who has made clear his desire to renew contract talks with Ragucci, was the lone dissenter on Tuesday night.
“It’s just bad timing,” responded Seibold, voicing his displeasure about the likely disjointed transition between Ragucci and his successor. “It should have been planned better to have a new town administrator step in. This is just not good for the town.”
The recent action does not authorize anyone to actually retain an interim leader, but starts the process by which representatives from UMass’ Boston’s Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management can begin considering such an arrangement.
Collins Center staff were retained by the selectmen last March to assist in the search. The public consultants, whose services were retained for $14,000, have guided a myriad of other communities through the hiring process for town managers.
In total, they have steered the searches for some 40 local government executives, and over the past decade, only two of those hires have left their positions — including one who accepted an appointment by Gov. Charles Baker to a state commission.
Last March, when Collins Center official Richard Kobayashi pitched his office’s services, he predicted it would take 120-days to complete the hiring process.
However, under the timetable described by Boussy this week, Ragucci’s replacement might not be chosen until August, and given the new hire will likely need to give some notice to his/her existing employer, the corner office in Town Hall might not be occupied by a full-time CEO before September.
Kobayashi recommends a search committee be utilized to assist in the process, because otherwise, initial interviews with job candidates would have to occur in open session during a Board of Selectmen’s meeting.
Provisions of the state’s Open Meeting Law allow a search panel to meet behind closed doors to screen out job applicants, as long as that vetting process doesn’t extend beyond a semi-finalist phase.
According to the consulting team, job seekers may drop out of contention if their initial interviews are conducted in public, because an open process could reveal to their employers they’re searching for work elsewhere.
The screening committee is expected to recommend five finalists for the vacancy, and the full Board of Selectmen will conduct all interviews in public session from that point forward.
According to Boussy, because of their expertise in the field, Collins Center staff have compiled a list of temporary managers, most of whom have retired from full-time work as town managers, who work on a consulting or interim basis.
Though not opposed to the concept of utilizing that resource, Wilson argued the board needed to agree upon the process by which that temporary leader will be selected.
“We have a process for vetting a full-time town administrator. What’s the process for a temporary one, if we’re going that route?” he asked.
“We have three weeks before Dave’s last day. So if we can at least get the list, [we could work that out],” Boussy responded.
Though he ultimately voted against the proposal, Seibold sought assurances any interim town administrator will be prevented from entering into contract talks or other types of negotiations that could bind the town to long-term legal agreements.
“I would say under no circumstances would a new town administrator negotiate any contracts,” Boussy agreed.

Massachusetts Attorney General Unilaterally Bans Thousands of Previously Legal Guns

Friday, July 22, 2016

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On July 19, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued an “enforcement notice” that greatly expands the Commonwealth’s definition of “assault weapon.”  AG Healey alleges that the ban’s definition of “copy” or “duplicate” “assault weapons” has been misinterpreted for the last 18 years and she is simply the first law enforcement official to discover this incorrect interpretation.  Unfortunately for AG Healey, the history of Massachusetts’ ban on “assault weapons” makes perfectly clear exactly which types of firearms the legislature intended to ban.

The Massachusetts ban on “assault weapons” was first passed in 1998 and included a provision that made the intent of the ban clear.  That provision provides that the term “assault weapon” “shall have the same meaning as a semiautomatic assault weapon as defined in the federal Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act [of 1994]. . . .”  By copying the federal definition of an “assault weapon” the legislature showed clear intent to prohibit exactly those firearms that at the time were already prohibited under federal law. 

By 1998, the federal ban on “assault weapons” had been in effect for nearly four years, and almost from day one of the federal ban, manufacturers were producing the “compliant” rifles that AG Healey is now targeting.  Massachusetts legislators in 1998 were well aware of these compliant rifles, yet they chose not to alter their legislation to prohibit those rifles when they simply enacted a copy of the federal ban.  It’s hard to imagine a more clear-cut example of legislative intent. 

Beyond AG Healey’s obviously incorrect interpretation of the law, her enforcement notice fails to provide an intelligible definition of what will be considered an “assault weapon” by her office.   The enforcement notice provides only the following test to determine if a firearm is a “copy” or “duplicate” “assault weapon” and therefore banned:
A weapon is a Copy or Duplicate and is therefore a prohibited Assault weapon if it meets one or both of the following tests and is 1) a semiautomatic rifle or handgun that was manufactured or subsequently configured with an ability to accept a detachable magazine, or 2) a semiautomatic shotgun.

1. Similarity Test: A weapon is a Copy or Duplicate if its internal functional components are substantially similar in construction and configuration to those of an Enumerated Weapon. Under this test, a weapon is a Copy or Duplicate, for example, if the operating system and firing mechanism of the weapon are based on or otherwise substantially similar to one of the Enumerated Weapons.
2. Interchangeability Test: A weapon is a Copy or Duplicate if it has a receiver that is the same as or interchangeable with the receiver of an Enumerated Weapon. A receiver will be treated as the same as or interchangeable with the receiver on an Enumerated Weapon if it includes or accepts two or more operating components that are the same as or interchangeable with those of an Enumerated Weapon. Such operating components may include, but are not limited to: 1) the trigger assembly; 2) the bolt carrier or bolt carrier group; 3) the charging handle; 4) the extractor or extractor assembly; or 5) the magazine port.

These tests seem intended to give little in the way of actual notice to gun owners while giving the AG’s office unlimited flexibility in enforcing the ban.  The “similarity test” could foreseeably encompass nearly all semi-automatic rifles because the “Enumerated Weapons” include rifles with the most common types of semi-automatic operating systems.  Even if that test weren’t interpreted so broadly, the “interchangeability test” would still capture many common rifles because newer firearm designs are often built using compatible parts from popular firearms to take advantage of the large aftermarket of magazines, trigger groups, and other components available for popular semi-automatic rifles.

Likely in an attempt to limit public uproar over her unilateral rewrite of the Massachusetts “assault weapon” ban, AG Healey notes that her new “enforcement notice” “will not be applied to possession, ownership or transfer of an Assault weapon obtained prior to July 20, 2016.” 

No explanation is given for how the definition of an “assault weapon” can change as it applies to individual possession, ownership, and transfer versus sales of new firearms by licensed dealers, but AG Healey was already on such a roll avoiding any use of logic that this legal contortion probably didn’t seem like such a stretch. 

However, the guidance is very clear that AG Healey “reserves the right to alter or amend this guidance”, so it’s possible that the AG’s new “interpretation” will soon apply to individual possession of previously compliant firearms.  NRA is still assessing all legal and legislative options to protect the rights of Massachusetts gun owners.  Stay tuned.