NStar crew at Langley/Beacon on March 30, 2011

It isn't the case that NStar is entirely to blame for the blight of double telephone and electric poles around town, so let's start right out by saying that Newtoncenter.com is not assigning blame to the guys who string the wires. On the other hand, in a well-run city (or an authoritarian city, take your pick) -- think Chicago, New York, even Boston -- with a mayor who has some cojones, it would work like this: Mayor: (thinks to himself, driving around town) Look at all these double poles*. This place looks like the freakin' South Bronx.

*Double Pole = two telephone poles bolted together. Incredibly ugly. When a pole fails (like, when it gets bent because too many wires cause it to keel over) the company that owns the pole puts in a new one, moves its wires to the new one, but if there are any 'foreign' wires on the old one, cuts off the old pole and attaches it (with the foreign wires) as an 'outrigger'. This is caused because one company (NStar, the electric company) can't touch the wires belonging to the other company on the same pole (Verizon.) In Newton, half the poles are owned by NStar and the other half are owned by Verizon. Each company has so-called 'poleage' rights - as regulated utilities, they are allowed to use the other company's poles to run their wires. Comcast and RCN also have poleage rights, but don't own poles themselves.

Tuesday. That means it's time for a massive response to a fender-bender. This is one of the most hazardous areas in town.

Coincidence? Or something more?

Less than a week after newtoncenter.com called attention to the sorry state of the flag on the Newton Center Green, it's been replaced! No longer at half mast, the new flag is not frayed, and flies proudly atop the memorial flagpole near the Citizens Bank.

When you walk through the Newton Center Playground behind Mason-Rice, it's easy to think you're miles and miles from the problems that beset the world. The grove of trees near the new play area has a nice bench where you can sit. Next to the bench is a stone with a brass plaque. The inscription reads:

Something to remember.

UPDATE: This Washington Post story indicates that Qaddafi himself 'personally ordered' the bombing of this plane.

What follows is a memorandum which will be submitted to the Newton Board of Alderman by a Newton Center resident (and, incidentally, the legal correspondent for Newtoncenter.com)

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MEMORANDUM

To: Newton Board of Aldermen
Date: February __, 2011

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

As practicing attorneys and residents of Newton, we are contacting you concerning the proposed snow removal ordinance. If you intend to adopt this proposal, we suggest you consider the following before you vote.

1. Liability. Do you intend the requirement to remove snow and ice from the public sidewalk in order to allow safe passage of pedestrians and wheelchairs be an obligation to the public or an obligation limited to the City of Newton, as described by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the case of Gamere v. 236 Commonwealth Ave. Condo Ass’n and Beta Gamma 19 Mass. App. 359 (1985)? If the latter is your intent, we suggest you provide language to that effect as it may save many hours and the expense of legal fees to have the Courts make a determination as to your intent.

2. Standard of Care. Do you intend an absolute standard that all snow and ice be removed and the city side walk be kept continuously free of the same, or do you want homeowners to use reasonable efforts to remove the snow once, following a storm? If the latter, you should add language requiring homeowners to use “reasonable efforts” to remove snow and ice one time following a storm. You might want to review a 2010 decision by the SJC, Papdopoulos vs ____, adopting a reasonable efforts standard for the removal of snow and ice on private property.
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