18. February 2011 by pat desmond.

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9. January 2011 by pat desmond.

The shootings in Arizona immobilized me yesterday.

I know no one who died or was even present when an unstable young white man opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol on a group of people at political event. A 9-year-old child, a federal judge and four other people were murdered. A Congresswoman whose name I’d never heard before was seriously injured.

Why did I sit by me television all afternoon yesterday watching CNN, worrying about where our country was going?

There were 20 people shot by the unstable man. Three people in the crowd are credited with trying to stop the gunman. In fact they succeeded because the spring the second magazine failed.

The bravery of those few people in the crowd makes me feel there is some hope. I search for more evidence of hope.

The Arizona sheriff made a few comments about the tone of political discourse in this country. No one has said the unstable man was connected with a political group.

The Milton Times, from its inception, has had a policy of refusing to print personal attacks. When we first announced the policy there was considerable testing by some people who wanted to use strong words to get their points across.

Over the years there have been a few times when attack words have slipped through the editting process but not many.

We believe that in a small community, like Milton, it is extremely important that our political leaders set an example for our children. How will our children learn to settle their own disputes?

There are people who believe controversy sells and inflammatory words sell even more. Perhaps that is so.

But there is a high cost for all of us if this is the bottom line.

Will this unstable young man’s actions lead to a cry for more civil debate? Will this incident lead to a discussion of whether automatic weapons should be taken off the retail market?  Indeed should someone be able to prove they are stable before buying a gun?

There is much to think about.

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13. December 2010 by pat desmond.

The new Congressman from Quincy, who still happens to be the Norfolk County District Attorney, is calling for a federal investigation into the death of Delvonte Tisdale.

Late on the afternoon of Dec. 10, DA William Keating and Milton Police Chief Richard Wells held a press conference to talk about the evidence their teams have put together that indicate the 16-year-old Tisdale fell from an airplane in the sky Nov. 15.

It doesn’t seem conclusive. But then it seems Homeland Security, TSA and all of the people who are making Americans less free ought to be put under the microscope so they can explain how a young man could stow away in a wheel well of a passenger plane.

But the evidence is:

1. Earlier in the day, police personnel from a group of local communities searched the woods near where the body was found. They came up with a shirt and two sneakers, items of clothing that matched the description of Tisdale’s clothes.
2. Grease was found on the young man’s clothes. Tests are underway to see if the grease matches that on the plane.
3. A 737 US Airways plane left Charlotte about 7 p.m. on Nov. 15 and landed at Logan about 9:30. The mutilated body was discovered on Brierbrook Street around 9:30. Brierbrook Street is in the flightpath.
4. Handprints were found in the left wheel well of the plane.
5. The autopsy results were consistent with a fall from a significant height.
6. The autopsy also revealed no sign of death by known weapons.

Is the evidence enough to worry about airport security? Keating thinks so, which is why he said he decided to release the story before conclusive tests were available.

Tisdale lived with his father, Anthony Tisdale, his step-mother and other siblings in North Carolina. He moved there from Baltimore where his mother Jonette Washington and other family members still live. According to news reports from the south, young Tisdale, had run away from home the night before his body was found.

All reports say he hadn’t been in trouble but was unhappy about the family’s relocation.

Meanwhile when Keating goes to Congress next month, he already has some work to look into.

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3. November 2010 by pat desmond.

Results are complete for the town of Milton as 72.3% of the 17,853 registered voters went to the polls.

The Democrats took the entire ballot.

The town said no to all three ballot questions.

What does this mean?

It seems to mean that Milton is satisfied with the way public policy is handled in this state.

Gov. Deval Patrick earned 6,991 votes to 4,708 for Charles Baker and 1,055 for Tim Cahill. The Green Party candidate took 101 votes townwide.

Congressman Stephen Lynch polled 8,891 votes to 2,478 for Vernon Harrison and 741 for Philip Dunklebarger.

Sen. Brian Joyce took 8,201 votes to 4,032 for Robert Burr, the Canton Selectman who spent much time campaigning door to door.

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27. October 2010 by pat desmond.

Jack Potter, the Postmaster General, is continuing to fight for a postage increase in excess of the cost of living.

The Postal Service lost its first round early this month when the Postal Regulatory Commission decided to reject the rate increase.

Postal Service will be filing a petition in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, seeking a review of the PRC decision.

Meanwhile Potter is retiring after many years with the Postal Service. His replacement has already been announced.

I guess the decision to appeal in court will take on a life of its own.

My very small business has been impacted by rising expenses this year. Healthcare insurance costs for my employees rose more than 10% just last month. The increase was one I knew about back in the spring. Payroll taxes have increased - I’m not sure of the percentage.

Looking at a possible increase in postage cost is depressing.

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13. October 2010 by pat desmond.

Watching Nightline on late night TV, I celebrate the miracle of the Chilean miners.

I admit I have avoided many of the stories because I try to protect myself from great tragedies and sadness.

But tonight I watched as the first of the miners appeared from the depths of hell. The first of the 33 miners to emerge from the collapsed mine. Florencio Avalos, father of two, came out of the San Jose mine smiling, looking well.

Shortly after midnight the second man emerged in the strange looking capsule.

I cried when the first man was saved. Now it’s a story I want to follow. Now the happy ending seems possible.

Flipping to CNN, I rejoice in miracles.

The first rescue took 16 minutes for the last stage. But for 69 days, the men were buried, with little hope. Yet they hoped.

Isn’t live TV grand. Mario Sepulveda Espinace, #2 guy, came out of the pit with some sort of souvenir gift for the men who were part of the rescue effort.

Life is good. Miracles happen. Sometimes the world moves in the right direction.

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7. October 2010 by pat desmond.

Well, one of the universal truths of America is that costs increase.

(I’m not thinking that is part of the American dream.)

Anyway, the powers that be in the Postal Service decided to ignore a law passed in 2006 that provided postal increase should be limited to the cost of living.

But the Postal Regulatory Commission voted recently to put the increase on hold. The PRC is not the last word. Its decision could be appealed but so far the postmaster general has indicated he is looking in other ways to deal with the budget problem. The post office is thinking about reducing delivery service from six to five days a week.

Who in their right mind thinks reducing service by 17 percent will increase the bottom line? Are they thinking they will lay off 17 percent of the staff? I don’t think so.

Meanwhile the cost of a first class stamp is 44 cents. Email is free.

I think they have a marketing problem.

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18. September 2010 by pat desmond.

 Richard O’Mara and David Thompson

This space is usually reserved for my thoughts but I want to share a story about the garden contest I judged last week. 

By Janet Harrold

A few months ago we decided to have a garden contest. Our thought process at the beginning was to not expect too much our first year. To our surprise it was well received by avid gardeners from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. Our panel of judges were carefully selected and brought in for site visits once the 5 finalists were established. This was an extremely difficult choice to make as they all worked so hard and were well thought out. Our judges really had their work cut out for them. Unfortunately we can only have one First Place winner, and we are proud to announce The recipient of this years $500.

Cedar Grove Gardens Credit will be awarded to………….Drum roll please……………….David Thompson from Dorchester, MA!

David is no stranger to gardening, his hard work really paid off this year as he was also the recipient of The Mayor’s Golden Trowel Award. It was no surprise that his passion and many talents were reflected in his gardens.David owns and operates Eclipse Salon in Milton. http://www.eclipsesalongallery.com/ David is a Photographer, and an Artist.http://www.davidthompsonart.com/
He paints primarily with oil. He is a Dune Shack artist, a Cape Cod artist, and a New England Artist.

To quote one of our judges “I loved the mix of modern and antique in his garden. The textures and colors balanced each other perfectly. Especially liked the koi pond and greenhouse, and thought out pathways. Use of “found” objects were a nice detail-a very personal garden”.
We would like to thank all of our contestants for participating and invite them to try again next year.
Thank you David for participating in our garden contest and also for helping to make Dorchester beautiful with your many talents.

(Contest judges included Pat Desmond of the Milton Times, Maureen Forry of the Dorchester Reporter and photographer Kristin Ahern.)

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8. August 2010 by pat desmond.

Now that my children are grown and living out of state, I have more time to think about whether my life’s work is moving in the right direction.

I began working in journalism in 1966 while still in college. I had zero skills for the occupation but I loved to write and thought newspapers were about writing.

Over the past 40 years I’ve learned about journalism.

Good journalism is essential to preserving democracy. Shedding light on the issues allows voters to make informed decisions.

There was a time in my life when I worried about the direction newspapers were taking.

After all, my career came of age at a time when newspapers were taking risks to uncover problems in our society. The New York Times – and other papers – published the Pentagon Papers released by Daniel Ellsberg, making the world aware of the lies beneath the rationale for the Vietnamese War.

Then Washington Post set two of its investigators loose on the Watergate story. We all know the end.

Back in those days, mega-corporations hadn’t taken control of the news process. And Wikileaks hadn’t begun overwhelming the citizenry with information. Years passed.

The Milton Times began publication in 1995. Both of my children helped in the beginning. My son, who was at Milton High School, handled deliveries and picked up the newspaper from the printing plant. My daughter worked full time creating ads and helping with page layout on the computer. My mother helped proof the pages.

The paper has changed over the past 15 years. A full-size truck brings the paper to town because it no longer fits in a large car or SUV. There is a staff of hard-working professional who put the pages together.

About 14 years ago, the paper developed a static web site which has undergone steady improvement. We continue to think about ways to change and improve the product.

While I’ve been busy growing the paper, my children have moved in other directions. My daughter is working towards her bachelor’s degree while raising two children. She has written two excellent children’s books.

My son is working as a therapist in California where he seems to have settled after traveling all over this country and through at least four Continents. He will marry later this year and I gain a new daughter. Today he has a web site of his own. Visit him at www.psychresources.net for more information.

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15. June 2010 by pat desmond.

Last week I was in Michigan meeting with the other members of the Board of Directors of the National Newspaper Association.

Cheryl Kaechele, publisher of three papers in Michigan, is president this year and she wanted to show off the interesting side of her state. Ease of transportation is not part of the picture.

What I learned when I arrived at Logan Airport is that the body scanning devices are in place in the security line. Despite the fact security lines move slowly through the body scanners, four TSA people decided to randomly check people at my gate. The plane was heading to San Diego with a stop in Detriot. (Obviously, I was getting off in Detriot.)

I was in Zone 3, which means I wasn’t the last to board the aircraft, but in the time I watched the special screening, I saw several the TSA people go through the carry on luggage of several women in my age range.

Are any of the known terrorists women in their 60s?

Does the government think this makes anyone believe they have a security plan that works?

I remember traveling to Israel back in the 1970s and wondering why there were so many soldiers walking in the cities. Why people were searched before they could board a plane. Why there were fences topped with barbed wire near the sandy beaches.

It seems we are moving back in time.

Anyway I will be doing more airplane travel this year as I finish my year on the NNA board. I head to Omaha in September for the annual convention.

Will the Milton Times improve because I will be traveling more? Maybe. There are some wonderful ideas employed at other small newspapers.

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