Dispatch from Sundance

Please note: This is written by our beloved Art Director, who will be blogging from Sundance this week. (I'm just the copy and pasting monkey.) -CB

I never expected to end up volunteerig at the Sundance film festival. I wanted to do it, but life always seems to come up. Well, here I am, six days into the fest, finally reporting to the beloved Dig readers.

Seen 6 films, 1 set of short films, 3 parties attended, 1 denied, and 4 celeb sightings. It has also snowed 5 out of 6 days and I am 100 hours behind on sleep.

It’s tough to keep track of everything that’s going on, there are so many films to watch, places to check out, different events to make it to, all while fitting in a six hour volunteer shift at one of the theaters where I work as an usher, loading the theater before each screening. “We have 10 seats open.” “Copy that.” “The entourage has arrived and I’m walking them in.”

There’s a fun crowd at the fest. Half of the people I’ve met so far have lived in Boston at some point in time. There are a handful of Aussies, and a ton of people from Utah of course. And that doesn’t even start to cover it. But the awesome thing is that everyone is here for basically the same reasons… to see films, appreciate creativity, meet people and party like we’ll all die in a blizzard tomorrow. It’s such a change from ordinary life.

In 3010, Tom Menino's cryogenically frozen head will be our mayor

... because the city council voted against term limits.

As reported, Councilors Yoon, Flaherty, Connolly and Tobin were for a two-term limit on Boston mayors.

Councilors Yancey, Linehan, Ciommo, Feeney, Murphy and Consalvo were against 'em.

Councilors Ross and LaMattina were the hold outs, and Ross voted yes, LaMattina voted no. The seven councilor majority narrowly defeated term limits, as Menino, our longest-sitting mayor, enjoys his fifth term.

No Justice

Last week, amid testimony on alimony, stalkers, finding a nicer name for "custody" and other relationship train wrecks, two justices of the peace testified before the Judiciary Committee in favor of raising the fees for accreditation.

            Currently, anyone can become JoP-for-a-day by filling out a form and a check for $25 at their local clerk's office. There are about 1,600 for-reals JoPs in Massachusetts, and they want to make it harder for any old schmoe to take their work, so they support a bill that would raise the one-day fee to $250. Michael Baker, president of the Massachusetts Justice of the Peace Association, said it came down to a question of fairness. "Our fees are regulated, what we can and cannot do is regulated. Those with one-day licenses are not," he said. JoPs just saw their maximum charges raised by $25. Now, according to state law, the most they can charge per ceremony is $100 in their hometown and $125 for out-of-town services. "We are not in opposition of the one-day, one-event officiate authorization," Baker said. "However, we are opposed to the small token fee that's being charged." He argued that JoPs have a filing deadline for municipal paperwork and must be residents (i.e., pay taxes), whereas one-day officiates don't.

            The money the state accrues from the fee hike goes into the general fund … the same pot of budgetary gold most of your taxes fall into. Baker said the Commonwealth earned about $68,000 last year issuing one-day licenses, but he wondered whether the $25 fee even covered the cost of processing. "At the very least," he said, "the Commonwealth should try to break even."

            Nelson Goldin, a JoP out of Framingham who's been in the marryin' business since 1993, said the law's original purpose—to allow legislators to officiate one another's marriages—has been abused. "There's no limit on the number of times a person can apply for this right to solemnize a marriage. The statute reads one day, one ceremony … but there's no limit. You can do one today, one tomorrow, one next week. … It allows a person to advertise in any format that they choose, while we … are strictly restricted as to where we can advertise," he said. "It allows a couple to have a consultation with me … cherry-pick my brain for ideas, then turn around and have a friend do the solemnization."

            No one testified against the bill. The limited permanent JoP positions are determined by the Governor's Council. Deval Patrick's press office had no comment on the bill.

The mayorororal debate abridged.

This is not a transcript, or even remotely close to one. It's meant to mock the spirit of the debate, in which everyone repeats their talking points and tries to embody a personality type (Yoon wants the job so he can strip it of it's power, Kevin McCrea is not a politician, Tom Menino is bored with these n00bs, and did you know that Michael Flaherty was once a district attorney?).

You can follow along, or watch the damn thing, here: http://wbztv.com/video/?id=80700@wbz.dayport.com

Keller: Welcome everyone. I hope you like this corny music. First question: Is Boston better/worse than it was four years ago?

Flaherty: I'd like to thank everyone. I'm not really answering this question: we could be better.

McCrea: No. My state senator and rep (Wilkerson and DiMasi) were both forced to resign amid scandal. We need more transparency. Also, thanks to his wife.

Menino: Hey thanks. And yes, we've got more development, we're making progress in the Boston Public Schools, we have the lowest crime rate in 40 years ...

Yoon: Thanks, I'm saying thanks, too. No. Just look at the three young people die every month, the giant pit in Dowtown Xing hole. I want to change the system. 

Keller: now, talk to each other!

Flaherty: I'm the only one with prosecutorial experience, so I know that stats don't tell us everything. I know because of my kitchen table conversations with people who have experienced violence [really?reminding us of the kitchenaid video again?]

Menino: We have crime watch, street teams

Flaherty: you cut street workers

Menino: We have 59 street workers. We need people working together, which is what I'm good at.

Yoon: Strong leader system. Doesn't incentivise collaboration. Crime fighting requires giving up power

KM: Cambridge is better than us. I can't say "prosecutorial."

MF: Just say Asst. District Attorney. That's what I was.

KM: Fine. I actually prosecuted the City Council for violating open meeting law, and drew a hefty fee.

Yoon: We need a bottom-up review of the police department. I keep saying that.

Keller: Should police details be required?

KM: No. We can train civilian flaggers for cheaper.

TM: Yes. It means more officers on street. Just the other day, officer-flaggers solved a robbery in Charlestown WHILE flagging traffic [AND consuming donuts]. Plus, the cost is essentially the same.

SY: Can I ask a question?

Keller: Ahhh! I am FREAKING OUT.

SY: Has a study ever been done that it addresses safety, mayor? I had a hearing on flaggers, and the conclusion was there is much to be desired from this program.

TF: We need flaggers. More police will protect us from drugs, guns and scary things. As a former district attorney, I can tell you that much.

SY: I want a study, not anecdotes.

KM: The reason we have crime in the inner city is we don't have jobs in the inner city. We could give flagger jobs to poor people. Then, we could save money on cops, and use that money to buy more cops.

TM: There are studies.

MF: We don't need another study. Now let me tell you about a lady I know, who I met at my kitchen table.

SY: No, we don't really have studies. Just statistics, not a study.

TM: Everyone looks at Boston's policies. Would we be asked to talk at a conference if our public safety approach wasn't awesome?

SY: Why don't we have 311? [A complaint line number that many cities have]

TM: We have another number for our municipal complaint line. It's just harder to remember.

KM: I went to New Orleans to volunteer. Also, they have 311.

Keller: Boston has 300 more jobs now than it did in 1998, but added 1,200 to city payroll. WTF?

TM: [totally inaudible]. But how do we look forward? How do we bring new business in?

SY: The Boston Redevelopment Authority has got to go. It operates under control of the mayor and millions of dollars change hands behind closed dollars. 

MF: Menino has grown city government. We need to shrink it, and we need to nurture the green economy and the creative economy. All our artists are running away to Rhode Island.

KM: City budget has grown, Flaherty has voted for it every year, except this one, where he was running for mayor. People wont do business here because of corruption. The BRA's Mr. Rourke gave a campaign contribution to Menino, then he got a lot of land on the cheap. Here is the deed.

TM: That's nonsense, you know it. We didn't want the lot, he owned the lot adjacent to it.

SY: Your figures are twisted, Menino.

MF: This budget was different. We were coming in with a deficit. My decisions are personal, not based on a campaign.

SY: There is so much hope, talent and energy. I stayed in Boston because it has potential.

Keller: You each have 10 seconds!!!

MF: Look at my website.

KM: Yoon and Flaherty want to get rid of the BRA and replace it with a Community Development Authority, which is the same thing.

SY: Community Development DEPARTMENT. But I want to run for mayor so I won't have any power as mayor.

Keller: I'm skipping to question 8, shit!!! Families on the waiting list for charter schools can't get in thanks to the cap. would you get rid of that cap?

SY: Yes, but charter schools are not a magic bullet. "Smart Caps," that's my idea. School Committee shouldn't be run by mayor.

MF: I was first to support a cap lift. The waiting list means there's success there.

KM: Charter schools are for guinea pigs. They bring successful strategies back to public schools. We know what works, it's extended school days and smaller classes. Charter schools are for wussies.

TM: I like in-district charter schools. During my administration, eight of our high schools were recognized by US News and World Report. The Dropout rate fell, kindergarten enrollment went up.

Keller: I need to take a break! TEN SECONDS.

SY: 85% of those who go to college don't graduate in four years.

TM:[inaudible]

MF: The number of Boston high school dropouts could fill a Bruins game [they probably do, too.].

KM: These politicians talk about lifting caps. All these guys' kids got into the school of their choice.

Keller: Ok. Phew. How do you feel about residency requirements for Boston employees?

MF: It's hard to retain people. I mean, we've all been talking about how much the city sucks, amirite? But yes, I do support residency requirements.

KM: We need to make it affordable for city employees to work here.

TM: 70% of residents think we're cool.

SY: Aw, we all agree! The city is the second-biggest employer, so it's an economic development thing to force residency. But there's patronage. It's not who you know but what you know. Need to move into 21st century.

TM: We hire people who are experts in their field, like Superintendent Carol Johnson and Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

SY: Oh yeah, they're good peoples. But I'm running because this system isn't working. We need term limits and campaign finance reform.

MF: Mayor, you let up on residency requirement. Now, it's just a 10-year requirement, then you can run away and still work for the city.

KM: It's interesting they mention patronage. Remember when TED KENNEDY voted against Iraq War? These city councilors didn't vote against patronage.

Keller: No time for formal responses. BATTEL ROYALE, BITCHES. What do we do about all the $$$?!

KM: This budget is crazy. Since January, we've had $120 million in bank.

TM: We use that money to pay our bills. We have the highest bond rating because we manage our money well.

KM: We have more money in the bank than ever in the history of anything.

TM: Kevin, you don't understand budget management. I like you. I'll give you a lesson later. [this is almost a direct quote]

SY: There's just too much power. It's scary. But hope will bring people to the polls. I hope.

MF: In a down economy, you don't tax people. I didn't support meals tax. University's need to stop being considered nonprofits.

TM: Our budget works for the city of Boston. It puts people to work. Also, we haven't talked about people. Our boards have a lot of people of color.

KM: Reaganomics! That's what a bond rating is.

SY: We all love this city. But we need to reform it, because it's stuck in the past.

Keller: That's it! It's over! Go out and vote. Then watch me on TV.

Flaherty to Menino: You're too old to drive this city

Michael Flaherty has launched the final version of his "Good. Better." campaign video, which argues that because current Mayor Tom Menino was elected in 1993, he's expired, and it's time to throw him out like an old computer … or something.

Let us try to break this down for you: in 1993, light bulbs were ugly. Bill Clinton was president, and Al Gore invented the internet. And Cheers went off the air.

A lot has changed since then (Cheers is, mercifully, still off the air). You are older and your car is younger. Now, you tackle challenges by awkwardly posing with your laptop outside.

But City Hall is like an old computer, and our government is running in analog.

There is a nice little jab at the giant pit in Downtown Crossing 45 seconds in. Not sure what the overturned trashcans are supposed to convey, though.

Oh, politicians! Will you ever stop patronizing us?

South Street Saved

The South Street Diner, a night owl institution since 1947, almost saw closure this week, when two of its neighbors petitioned the Boston Licensing Board to force it to close shop at 1am. The board announced today that it would not force the diner to take on early hours. The two complaintants didn't show up to a hearing yesterday that filled a in City Hall chamber with supporters.

            Sol Sidell, who bought the diner in 1997 when he was 26 years old, told the Dig that had the board voted to roll back hours, South Street would've been forced to shut down. "Ninety percent of our business is done between 1 o'clock in the morning and 4 o'clock in the morning. That's the only time that there's parking in that neighborhood, that's only time we have captive crowd of customers. There's very little walk-by traffic in the daytime. We would be out of business if we weren't open all through the night."

            This is not the first time South Street has faced the ire of its neighbors. Sidell says that 2 1/2 years ago, the diner received complaints from four neighbors about noise, and complied by changing the time and location of its garbage pickup, and forcing waiting patrons to line up on Kneeland Street rather than congregate on South Street.

            On Marathon Monday this year, Sidell announced it would be open 24 hours again. The diner was open 24 hours from 1947 until 2006, when industries surrounding it started to crumble, and it closed during the day, serving from 5am to 5pm during the week and 24 hours on the weekend. "Three years ago, we lost almost 4,000 jobs down in the area, so I switched the hours … so we were not open during the day Monday through Friday," Sidell says. "The building across the street from me at 210 South Street converted from 2,500 jobs and businesses to residential units, the Mass Highway building at 179 Kneeland Street, went 2,500 jobs working for the Big Dig to 300 jobs. The building behind me sold modems, now everyone uses wireless, so they went down from 1,200 jobs to 120. So, with that loss of business I focused on what we did best, which was late-night business." In many ways the shifting neighborhood is what created antagonism with his neighbors."

            Complaints came from residents of 210 South Street, a loft complex that sprung up across the street from the diner in 2006. One resident, Peter Davos, began videotaping South Street's patrons from his apartment, and posted the riff-raff cam footage on YouTube. He told the Boston Herald, "The regular acts of violence I have witnessed there are just ridiculous: fights, fights with weapons, fights with cab drivers and their patrons, brawls of eight to 10 people.”

            The diner earned 1,300 iPetition signatures in four days, and a webmovement was started on its behalf. It will remain open 24 hours.

melted intentions

The Dig has obtained the police report from the dance party at Wheelers that was broken up over the weekend. While it is just one side of the story, and a fragmented version of it at that, there are some fascinating anthropological observations to be had.

First of all, if there hadn't been a fight outside of Wheeler's, the cops never would have known about it:

Wheeler's Icecream … had the windows belackened out with black sheets of nylon giving the appearance that the business has been closed. Officers gained entry to the store and had observed approximately 60 to 70 people inside the store.

People were being charged a $10 entrance fee, and 21+ers were given wristbands and could buy alcohol. The report quotes the store's manager saying "This is an ice cream store as well as a bar." Sounds fantastic! They do have some seriously amazing alcoholic-flavored ice cream, so that's not as bananas as it sounds. Then again, the report says he couldn't produce any permits.

The cops seized just about everything as evidence; turntables, the mixing board, records and CDs, as well as a very specific grocery list:

Gin-bottle of London Dry Gin (Model: Kappy's)

Guinness-15 pack Guinness beer

Champagne - bottle of Segura Viudas Champagne

Beer - Bottle of Leffe beer

Sounds like a pleasant evening at home for Dig staff. Who doesn't chill out with a nice bottle of Kappy's model Dry Gin and a bottle of Leffe to chase that down?

Then there's the witness list. Either the party consisted almost entirely of underage white female students, or those were the people the police were more inclined to recruit as witnesses. Them, and a 49-year-old from Bedford who listed his occupation as "certified masseur." There's always that one guy …

Anyway, the case goes to pretrial later this month.

Arts at the Armory approved

Last night, Arts at the Armory—an ambitious project intended to bring a performance space, artist studios, a café and programming ranging from after school projects to classes for the elderly to the old Somerville Armory building—took a giant step toward completion after more than four years of shuffling, when the Somerville Committee on Licenses and Permits approved an entertainment license for the facility.

The large bingo room in the senior center was filled with supporters who burst into applause when committee chairman Andrew Upton declared the license had been approved.

But not everyone was thrilled with the decision. Some neighbors vehemently oppose the project, which they claim will bring late-night noise, traffic and parking problems to the area. Debra McLaughlin, the manager for the project, insisted, "We're very committed to being a good neighbor."

The Somerville Armory, a century-old building formerly home to volunteer militia and National Guard troops, was sold by the state to Joseph Sater (owner of the Middle East club in Central Square) in 2004. Since then, Armory management has held at least a dozen community hearings that were professionally mediated, and yielded the "41 Conditions," a lengthy document detailing the requirements and agreements.

Alderman Sean O'Donovan had been involved in the process since its inception. "I stand before you today, 110 percent in favor of this project," he said. "This is really something that's going to tie this neighborhood to the Union Square arts community."

But John Sullivan, a nearby resident, claimed that Sater had promised that only acoustic bands would play at the Armory, and that there would be no amplified music. "Throughout this whole process, the neighbors were concerned with loud music," he told the comittee. "I'm familiar with Mr. Sater's Middle East, and I don't want that type of environment at the Armory."

Sater countered that he'd spent $60,000 soundproofing the armory. While Sullivan pointed to early drafts of zoning board negotiations that prohibited amplified music, Upton could not find anything about it in the final draft.

"Why would you do a sound test and buy all this equipment for a place that didn't intend to have amplified music?" Upton asked Sullivan, before turning to the 41 Conditions. "Item 26d says they must 'soundproof the armory as needed.' That is a zoning board condition. This is an avenue you can pursue if there's a violation. ...Nine of the 41 conditions refer to sound. I'm finding it hard to believe that all these conditions and precautions were taken just for chamber music."

The board only heard testimony from five supporters of the Armory, since all the testimony would have kept them there until 3am. Mark Alston-Follansbee, director of the Somerville Homeless Coalition pointed out that the Armory was willing to relieve traffic with valet parking and bus transport, and called the Saters "the most charitable people we've ever met." Joe Grafton offered, "I believe this project to be very beneficial to the local business community."

Approval of the entertainment license is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of bureaucratic approval the Armory will seek; they'll need an occupancy license, a food  license for the café, approval from the historical society to place bike racks in front of the building and they'll have to somehow make the space handicap-accessible without ruining the integrity of the historic architecture. Still, the license does mean that the Actor's Shakespeare Project will be able to perform its first production, Coriolanus, in March.

Feel like crying at your computer this morning?

But good tears! Good tears!

Oh, OK. Here you go, the Obamas first dance at the Inaugural Ball last night:

A little awkward to watch them slow dance, but it's like they're the only ones in the room anyway.

How to Smoke Pot in Boston (decriminalizedly!)

Don't snicker! The people have spoken, the evil weed is no longer a criminal offense and even the Boston Police Department is taking this seriously. So, little stoners (who? you?), here are some things you should know:

Civil offense = fine, no criminal record.

Criminal offense = jail time, criminal record, mom's gonna be piiiiissed.

So, while a civil offense is definitely better, neither one is legal.

Less than an ounce of marijuana is now a civil offense, so no, you can't just walk down the street smoking a j in front of the police. BUT whereas last year, such activities would have resulted in arrest, now you'll get a citation and a $100 fine. Possession of more than an ounce of marijuana, driving under the influence and selling drugs are still criminal offenses, though.

OK, so here's where it gets interesting: If you're smoking pot and you have less than an ounce on you, you are not required by law to identify yourself. The police can ask you, but they can't arrest you for the refusal (according to the current law, anyway). And if they don't have your name, they can't issue the citation.

Got any questions? Ask 'em in the comments section and we'll do our best to sniff out the answers.