“Live Blogging” 7 News

11:00 — Live from Boston, it’s Seven News, on the News station..and we’re off.

11:00 — Relentless Rain, Fleeing the Floods, Record Rain, Rivers Rise, Fierce Flooding. Wow, we’re not even a minute into the news cast and we have five alliterations. To Dan Housle for more…

11:01 — Dan the Man likes tan in a can.

11:02 — Another “Fierce Flooding” graphic gets us to Pete Bouchard, who tells us we won’t have any flooding here.

11:03 — A two-for-one. Christa Delcamp describes Pedro’s return as a “Horrible Homecoming.” The graphic over her shoulder reads Horrifying Homecoming.

11:03 — To smiley happy Joe Amorosino, with Pedro Pounded on the video wall behind them. Fan with the obligatory Napoleon Dynamite sign “Vote for Pedro” in the montage.

11:05 — Despite the happy talk from Pedro, smiley happy Joe assures us that he was “terribly embarrassed.” How would he know that?

11:05 — A “Tragic Turn” for two guys who met on the internet for rough sex and ended up dead. To Nichelle King, live from the house of ill repute: “this time, S&M turned out to be…Suicide and Murder.” Oh brother.

11:07 — A deadbeat dad is arrested in…wait for it…a Funeral Home Fiasco. I wonder if the anchor ever looks at the graphic on the video wall and has the urge to stand in front of it, trying to block the foolishness from our view.

11:08 — Whenever I see or hear a reference to Braintree, I get the old Dave Dinger Ford jingle stuck in my head: “Come to Daaaave Dinger Ford, in Braintree (in Braintree).” It’s in there now.

11:08 — And we have our first story without an alliteration as part of the lead…and it’s about the guy whose penile implant malfunctioned. If ever a story cried out for a snarky, sing-song headline, this is it. And nothing.

11:08 — Jeff Glor tries to tell us this story really isn’t funny.

11:09 — You have a plastic tube loaded with springs implanted in your penis and you’re shocked that it’s painful? Seems like that would be the default position, no?

11:10 — Back on track. Police find Cocaine in the Crib. Those two don’t at all look like druggies.

11:10 — Quick mention of break-ins at a Lawrence Boys and Girls club. No “Lawrence Larceny”? “Gang Grab,” maybe? Someone’s slipping.

11:10 — Osama is releasing a “Terror Tape.” Not very terrifying video of a smiling Osama plays.

11:11 — Segue to updates from the “Crisis in the Middle East.” As though there is only one.

11:12 — And here is what we have to look forward to in segment two: Star Jones is out! Creepy robots! Weather! Vladimir Putin…ewwww! Nerds with Video Games! Stay tuned.

11:12 — Am I the only one bothered that the news announcer guy reads a tag line for Mercedes Benz and points people to the their website for more info. It’s not as bad as it used to be. There was a stretch where the news was sponsored by Chrysler and the little blurb point people to go to the WHDH.com website for more information. I guess I don’t think a news organization should be lending it’s credibility to shill for it’s sponsors.

11:15 — And we’re back, with a story on Star Jones firing. I’m a little surprised that an NBC station is reporting on the changes at an ABC talk show, but I guess that’s the only celebrity news of the day.

11:16 — Randy is voicing over a story on these robots MIT is creating that essentially look like Cartoon faces on mechanical arms. Looks like the faces can move their eyes to follow the subject, can smile. Is that one moving in for a kiss? Are these the sex robots people were talking about last week? Randy throws in a “seriously smart”.

11:17 — Nerds falling prey to video game addiction. Risking Reality. Byron Barnett reporting, should I count that as an alliteration too?

11:18 — So they’re doing a story on video game addiction, they are talking to a woman who purportedly ruined her life playing video games and is now being treated for her addiction, and they have video of her at her computer, headset on, playing the game. Doesn’t that undermine the story a little? If you had a story about a recovered alcoholic, you wouldn’t film them drinking because having a drink could cause a relapse. So if this is a real addiction, how is it that they film a recovering addict doing the exact thing she is recovering from?

11:20 — Pete Bouchard tries to save the segue by proclaiming that he’s “addicted to weather maps.” OK.

11:21 — Pete is a good egg. I don’t miss Todd Gross at all, but if you do, be sure to tell him just how much.

11:22 — And here is the video of Vladimir Putin greeting children, pulling up a young boy’s shirt, and kissing the youngster on the belly. Yuck. And Christa hits it out of the park: “I’m sure he’s going to be talking about his eccentric Uncle Vladimir to all of the other kids.” Randy Price laughs nervously.

12:23 — Smiley happy Joe coming up next, with Sox highlights.

12:24 — I hate these Toyota commercials. Come on for a drive, Feel the sunshine, stab hot pokers in my eye.

11:26 — Sox win. Lastings Millidge is bad. Pedro taken deep by “soft-hitting” Alex Gonzalez. Whatever. On to Dave Briggs for more.

11:27 — Cookie Cutter Dave (can you tell I don’t like the 7 Sports guys? Didn’t know if that was clear) tells us that the Sox ownership must be “privately ecstatic that their golden boy (Josh Beckett) was shining while the one the let walk struggled.” Twice now, the Sports guys have told us that someone must be this or that despite what they said. That’s absolutely wrong. If you want to get someone with knowledge of a person or situation to tell you that they believe “X” despite the fact they say “Y” to make your argument then do it. That’s called reporting. But don’t tell me what you think someone must be feeling. If I want that kind of groundless speculation, I’ll tune in to talk radio, thank you.

11:29 — Commercials. Did the Yanks win? Blue Jays? We didn’t get any scores from around the league, so I have no idea. But at least I’ve been assured by Dave Briggs that Sox brass felt vindicated.

11:31 — Back to the Studio for a good bye. If you’re looking for a final tally, we had 14 alliterations (excluding “Byron Barnett”) in 14 stories during the news segment, for a slugging percentage of 1.000. Highlight of the show, er, newscast: Christa’s fantastically snarky comparison of Vladimir Putin to a sexual deviant.

Tags: Boston Television News WHDH Channel 7

Let’s Roll

So, I’ve got Jackson on the table this evening getting ready to change him. He’s hungry and soiled, and he’s all worked up. As I sit down, he rolls over onto his side, teeters, and ends up rolling onto his stomach.

I found this unexpected sense of pride filling me. Like he had just pitched a shut-out or won a spelling bee. It was very strange.

Cats that look like…

Hitler. (Really.)

Tags: Cats Hitler

Remembering the Bridge Diner

Michael’s Bridge Diner, the most popular breakfast spot in Lancaster, burned to the ground this morning, most likely the work of an arsonist who also destroyed a nearby Agway business.

It was a classic townie diner, where the same group of regulars would be there each day for breakfast . For a while, I would join my father for breakfast there on those occasions when I had to be in to school early. I must have been 13 or 14. After a couple of weeks of eating there nearly every morning, I felt like I was one of the regulars and when the cook asked me what I wanted, I asked for “the usual,” which would have been scrambled eggs, home fries, and white toast. I ended up with over-easy and bacon. I guess two weeks wasn’t quite long enough to have a usual.

I haven’t eaten there in years, but I know a number of people who still go there (or went there) nearly every morning for breakfast. Losing the diner will be quite a blow to the town. News reports today suggested that the owner will rebuild. That would be a good thing for Lancaster.

The Telegram and Gazette posted an article on the fires this afternoon. News 4 New England, NewsCenter 5, and 7 News all have video. (Photo from the Telegram and Gazette).

Tags: Massachusetts Lancaster Fire Arson Diner Agway

Telegram editor calls NHL terrorists

Bud Barth, assistant sports editor at the Telegram and Gazette, compared the NHL leadership to al Qaida in an ill-fated column looking ahead at the Bruins’ off-season. After trotting out the standard rants about the ineptitude of the Bruins front office, he turned his sights on the NHL and inexplicably finished his column with this:

If this were the Professional Female Mud-Wrestling Association, maybe [the NHL] could hold my interest for 10 months of the year. But this is ice hockey, which ranks fifth among the four major sports, and is even less compelling when the temperature outside is 90 degrees.

Which is why, as long as the NHL has a hand in the Bruins’ immediate future, it sure feels like the spoked-B limousine is being chauffeured by al-Qaida.

Are you kidding me? Comparing NHL brass to an organization that has killed thousands of innocent people in America and around the world just is not funny. Bud Barth should retract his lame attempt at humor and apologize.

Tags: Boston Bruins NHL al-Qaeda Worcester Telegram and Gazette

Leominster’s last local pharmacy closes

The Sentinel and Enterprise led with some sad news today. Adams Pharmacy, the last locally-owned drug store in Leominster has been bought out and became a Brooks Pharmacy as of this morning:

“I just sold it out to Brooks because I’m retiring,” pharmacist and store owner Allan Esper said Tuesday. “The only person leaving is me.”

The store’s post office branch has been closed permanently and the photo center is shut down indefinitely, but Esper, 63, said pharmacy operations will run smoothly
throughout the change.

He said the decision to sell to the major pharmacy retailer wasn’t easy.

“I think it will disappoint a lot of customers,” he said. “And I guess that disappoints me.”

The Brooks takeover won’t affect any customers’ prescription orders, but Esper said the store will be drastically different.

“Independent drugstores are much more service-oriented than chains,” he said. “We have a connection to the community that chains aren’t really able to create. But they’re doing the right thing by keeping the staff.”

…..

Esper thinks ending the post office at the location is a bad idea.

“I think the biggest mistake Brooks is making is that they took out the post office,” he said. “People just loved that, it brought them in. They didn’t have to drive 20 minutes to go downtown. It was very convenient for them.”

We used Adams Pharmacy quite a bit for our prescriptions, cards, stamps, etc. The post office branch was particularly convenient, considering the long lines that often form at the main post office downtown. Having the post office was probably great business for Esper, since it brought people into his store.

And one of the neat things about going to Adams was seeing the little hybrid car out front with the Adams logo that they used to deliver prescriptions to some of their customers. I imagine that was an invaluable service to many elderly and handicapped people in our neighborhood, and losing that convenience may be a hardship on some of those who counted on it.

Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella said he will be sad to see Adams Pharmacy change into a chain store.

“It’s one of the last small, locally-owned drugstores in the area,” Mazzarella said. “But (Esper) ran a great business, he worked some long hours and built up a great store. He’s worked really hard and he’s entitled to a happy retirement.”

Brooks Pharmacy will stand out on Central Street, because it’s an area that has few chain stores now, Esper said.

Looking in the Yellow Pages, there are nine pharmacies in Leominster, and now they are all owned by national chains. Once the city’s signature downtown restaurant is razed to make room for a new Walgreens, we’ll be 10-for-10.

Mayor Mazzarella may be sad for the loss, but having another chain store set up shop in Leominster fits well with his economic philosophy. He has tied the city’s economic future to retail chains, instead of relying on local business and industry.

Esper did run a great business, and his business will be missed. It’s too bad that our economic system makes it nearly impossible for businesses like his to continue to be locally owned. He described the difficulties facing a locally-owned pharmacy:

“To get started as an independent is too expensive anymore,” he said. “When I got out of school, it seemed like every pharmacist was looking to own their own store. But with HMOs and insurance companies, it’s getting harder. You can’t get the same deal as the chains when you’re working with HMOs.”

The era of the corner drugstore ended yesterday in Leominster. Our city is not better for it.

Tags: Massachusetts Leominster Adams Brooks Pharmacy Development

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Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog. Comments that were previously added may not appear with posts.

There goes the neighborhood

In Fitchburg last week, supporters of Ted DeSalvatore, a city councilor who is fed up with the crime in parts of Fitchburg, organized what he called the “Liberty March” through one neighborhood. Here is the description of the march (via Save Fitchburg):

This march is a collaborative effort from a number of people throughout the city to show their support for City Councilor Ted DeSalvatore and his taking an aggressive stance against criminally overwhelmed areas.

Why Liberty Walk? To put it simply, we want to liberate the neighborhoods under siege. These neighborhoods are filled with the criminally minded, aggressive, threatening individuals that make up our present gangs and drug dealers or those that aspire to mimic them. City Councilor Ted DeSalvatore has been trying to get the attention of city officials a number of ways over the last 18 months and has recently decided to step up his efforts and bring it to the attention of the general public through the news paper and at the neighborhood level.

This is not an easy or safe thing to do and Councilor DeSalvatore needs your show of support now and a continued show of support until the job is done!

According to the Sentinel and Enterprise, 300 or so concerned citizens came out to march on the neighborhood. Not surprisingly, they were not greeted as liberators:

FITCHBURG — Some residents of the troubled 300 block of Elm Street revved car engines, yelled and rode bicycles around an estimated 300 people as they marched through the neighborhood Thursday night.

Participants in Thursday’s ‘Liberty Walk’ — aimed at showing city residents they were united to fight crime — couldn’t believe what they saw.

“I was shocked at what I saw. I was actually a little nervous,” said Sara Melanson, 29. “There were children yelling profanity. And I heard one girl yelling — she was only 13 or 14 — and she was yelling, ‘You’ve got today, but after today you can never come back down here.’”

Melanson, a lifetime resident, said she “didn’t realize it had gotten so bad.”

…..

Mark Melanson, who brought his two young sons, expressed as much astonishment at the neighborhood’s reaction as his wife Sara.

“It just seemed like they controlled that entire area. They owned the neighborhood,” he said. “They were putting off fireworks when there were police around. There was such fearlessness. It was amazing.”

Now, I’ve never been to the 300 block of Elm Street in Fitchburg, so I cannot say how bad it is or isn’t. I trust that is a particularly rough part of town. But one has to be pretty naive to be surprised that the folks in that neighborhood would resent the march. If 300 people from across Leominster were to show up in the South End and march down Central Street to highlight problems in this neighborhood, you can be sure that I would resent it.

It just seems to me to be particularly confrontational. Forty-five years ago, when a mayor, city council, police chief, fire chief and hundreds of Concerned Citizens marched through neighborhoods in the south, they meant to intimidate. That may not have been the intent of the marchers in Fitchburg, but they should not be surprised that the neighborhood reacted the way it did.

Hey, two Fitchburg posts in a row, I don’t know what’s got into me.

Tags: Massachusetts Fitchburg Crime Liberty Walk Ted DeSalvatore Dan Mylott

This plan won’t fly

The Sentinel this morning reports that a Fitchburg city councilor wants to close the Fitchburg Airport and replace it with something…anything…but an airport:

City councilor suggests closing Fitchburg airport
By Kyle Alspach

FITCHBURG — A city councilor is proposing that Fitchburg investigate whether to close its municipal airport and use the land for a different purpose, such as a commercial or industrial venture.

Ward 5 City Councilor Stephan Hay recently filed the proposal with the City Council. He said Friday that there might be better options for the sprawling site.

“The airport serves a small number of people in our community,” Hay said. “If we can find something that serves more people, or generates more revenue for us, that would be something we should consider.”

The Fitchburg Municipal Airport sits on 335 acres of land near the Leominster border, according to the airport’s Web site.

The airport is less than two miles from Route 2, and Hay says Fitchburg might reap more economic benefit if the land housed a shopping plaza, industrial park or a minor league baseball stadium.

The article goes on to suggest that the proposal is most likely dead on arrival. I don’t think the airport should close, but if it did, the ensuing fight over the use of the land might be entertaining enough to be worth it.

One snarky commenter on the Twin Cites Blog suggested that they build a “300 acre Walmart” on the site. That might be Mayor Mazzarella’s worst nightmare: having Leominster ringed by Wal-marts in Lunenburg, Lancaster, and Fitchburg to remind him of his failure to saddle our fair city with the project.

Failing that, I say let Fitchburg build a baseball stadium there. The plan to put a ballpark on Leominster’s old landfill isn’t a good one as it’s currently described, so I say let Fitchburg co-opt it. Leominster can sneak in and claim the Revolution’s new stadium as its own.

Tags: Massachusetts Leominster Fitchburg Airport Development New England Revolution

Happy Father’s Day