Don’t panic
As Peggy Noonan (author, weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal) would say, “Don’t panic” is what nervous, defensive people say when someone warns of coming trouble. They don’t want to hear it, so their message is “Don’t worry like a coward, be blithely unconcerned like a brave person.”
She also writes that this is how she has experienced it: “Captain, there appears to be an iceberg.” “Don’t panic, officer, full steam ahead”, and, “Admiral, concentrating our entire fleet in one port seems tempting fate.” “We don’t need your alarmist fantasies, ensign”, also “We’re picking up increased chatter about an al Qaeda action.” “Your hand-wringing is duly noted.”
Peggy states that “Don’t panic,” in the current atmosphere, is a way of shutting up people who are using their imaginations as a protective tool. It’s an implication of cowardice by cowards.
Mayor Rivera does not want the public to panic falls into this type of protective tool towards its residents and its employees. He is telling employees not to use facial masks thereby increasing any potential transfer of virus to its residents. He is also not telling its residents of any plans that the city may have in case of small, or major, issues related to this coronavirus.
He speaks about hospital beds in the news, but this is none of his concern. In an Eagle-Tribune interview last Wednesday he said “Holy Family and Lawrence General officials will be touring the Parthum School on Friday because it has been designated as an ‘off-site’ location for extra hospital beds if local facilities run out of space.” Lawrence resident and businesses want to know how Mayor Rivera and his local government will respond to a city outbreak.
I called the public relations department at Lawrence General Hospital to get more details about the plans to use the Parthum School and I was told they would call me back but no one has called.
I get it, it’s tough. This is a fluid situation and I don’t want you to believe I have all the answers. This nation has not seen anything to this scale. But the City has been in this situation before and has not learned anything about a written plan. The City had since the September gas explosions to come up with emergency plans. They have none. The emergency director for the City is the Fire Chief who is always outshined by the mayor. He has no plans. The Mayor has no plans. All they can say is that they speak to the Commonwealths on a daily basis and take their response from them.
By the way, Chief Moriarty has been in the hospital for a few days for an unrelated reason, according to him, but the fact remains that it has been kept from the public.
Mayor Rivera does not want to shut anything down and will not address this because for him it’s a matter of local businesses losing out. But without creating a task force that could go to each local business with a training tool and resources it’s just murder. No pun intended.
Employees are not allowed to use a mask. He does not think a mask will help anyone. Maybe he should speak to Councilor Payano, who last year recommended that the city adopt the Commonwealth law as it pertains to a Department of Health & Human Services. Mayor Rivera did not adopt the law and here in the city we continue without medical experts in its arsenal of weapons to deal with this issue.
I am mostly concern with our men and women of the Police Department, Fire Department, Public Works, and every other employee that has direct interaction with the public. I know that they must serve, that’s their job, no matter what. But where is their safety in all of this?
Mayor Dan Rivera, please stop treating city employees like they are disposable.
Last Thursday, he sent a message to all city employees stating, “There is no gag order with the press, but if approached by media please feel to direct them to Kate Reilly in my office (kreilly@cityoflawrence.com – 978-620-3013). I will be the official voice of the Government of the City of Lawrence, so as not to breed confusion.” I doubt the mayor understands what a gag order is.
He has yet to communicate with any of the city’s elderly populated buildings on the possibility that either quarantine or evacuation is necessary. He has not discussed the possibility of the dead with local funeral homes. He has yet to communicate with non-profit organizations that provide services to the thousands of elderly people in the City.
He has not reached out to the local housing authority as well. There has only been one robocall to its residents and it was related to washing your hands. He has not addressed the issues of a large gathering of people except to say that the St. Patrick’s Day parade was postponed, which means contacting every restaurant and entertainment business in the city to discuss strategy. But without an Economic Development Director in place there isn’t much attention placed on businesses.
I am not saying we should close anything at this moment. I am not saying that the City should build a wall around itself. But it would be ideal if the city had its plans communicated and on their pretty little website. The information shown about Lawrence is outdated and the rest is Governor Baker’s suggestions.
Mayor Rivera knew that a trial court employee had been found positive with the Coronavirus and was in the Lawrence courts for training. He said nothing to no one, not even employees and when asked, he said it was not true. Actually, he just stated that no one in Essex County was found positive with the virus. The next day that number changed.
I just wonder if he or his staffs have even bothered to check on the poor parking attendant, near the city hall and the courthouse, who have been handing out parking stubs and receiving sums of money from this very same person, or anyone else who is coming in and out of these parking lots and stations, unprotected.
A good mayor would do what Mayor Marty Walsh did Friday morning. He gave his entire city plan on a news station for the residents to hear. He sounded confident and as well he indicated his fears. He didn’t sugar coat it or talked about hospital beds. He asked for the people to check on residents who are housebound and see if they require their medication or food. Mayor Walsh also stated to have one person contact the elderly and for all others to stay away from the elderly as much as possible.
The Recycling Director
Carlos Morel, the new recycling director that used to work as a parking lot attendant, has someone from Lawrence CommunityWorks teaching how to operate the computer. He doesn’t speak English and is computer illiterate. You can go by his office in the basement of city hall and see them.
