Lawrence, a news desert
Last week I explained what a “new desert” is and why Lawrence qualifies as one. Without access to local news, residents are kept in the dark when the time comes to make wise decisions for their future and their city.
As luck will have it, there was an article in the Boston Globe this week by Amanda Milkovits and Edward Fitzpatrick about the Governor of Rhode Island Daniel McKee announcing the appointment of Bryant C. Da Cruz to the Ethics Commission.
These reporters did what the governor and his people should have done investigating the individual discovering that he had multiple accusations made against him by six women and their article detailed the sexual harassment complaints.
The next day, after the publication of the article, Mr. Da Cruz tendered his resignation and Gov. McKee’s office stated that the vetting process was not adequate and that it would be corrected going forward.
Can you think of all the appointments that have been made through the years in our city by pointing a finger? It’s our responsibility to make sure that our city employees (as well as Board Members and Commissioners) are deserving of our trust and salary; but, if we elect individuals who may have a shady past or questionable behavior, we can only expect that they will select people of their ilk to work here. Yet, we do it all the time!
Selection of a new School Superintendent
Please take the time to read a letter by District C Councilor Gregory Delrosario insisting that the public should participate in the selection of a new superintendent. We have been told that a group from Chicago has been contracted to perform a national search instead of looking for someone knowledgeable of this city and its people, preferably bilingual and chosen by us.
This past Wednesday, the Lawrence Alliance for Education Board (LAE) met in a meeting that was not publicized to the residents resulting in a letter that we published on page 12.
They have scheduled two meetings with members of the community during January. I don’t know how much participation there will be since the Chicago group is charged with the selection but I plan to be there to witness how many parents will attend.
My skepticism comes from many years of watching the lack of interest from parents regarding their children’s education. I believe that was the reason for losing the high school accreditation first and later the control of the school system: People didn’t care enough to get involved and demand better education. I’m afraid nothing has changed and we will continue to be managed by outsiders whether it’s Jeffrey Riley or someone from out-of-state.
No one can deny the lack of interest because we just had an election and it is always difficult getting someone to run for school committee. Yes, even after the takeover of the schools, the school committee shall continue to exist by law. The purpose is that the LAE Board is supposed to train them in all matters having to do with their duties, particularly with the budget.
The reality has been that the school committee members have been treated like unwanted stepchildren kept ignorant of important decisions and taught nothing.
I don’t know how the LAE Board members have been selected but, if anyone is interested, here they are: Pat Mariano, Chair, Brian DePeña, Dolores Calaf, Arlene García, Juana Matías, Edgar De León, and María Muller.
Arrests of Juveniles
We published on the front page the arrest of the students involved in the beating of two other children at Sullivan Park. Notice that we didn’t say it was at the “high school” because it must be clarified that it did not happen at school and they were not students there.
According to Chief William Castro, the Police Department acted very efficiently arresting six of them within two days of the attack of the nine that have been identified. They are being held until they appear in court accused of multiple charges.
Chief Castro is very pleased with the response of the units as well as the courts and District Attorney Paul F. Tucker.
This is how languages change
There’s a new (non-profit) organization coming to Lawrence (page 11) called Amplify LatinX that you may want to read and learn what they are about.
That is a term being used lately among the younger generation (I’m showing my age) but yes, I am very conservative regarding language changes just because times and politics demand it.
I checked on Wikipedia and this is what they say: “Latinx is a neologism in American English which is used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The gender-neutral ⟨-x⟩ suffix replaces the ⟨-o/-a⟩ ending of Latino and Latina that are typical of grammatical gender in Spanish. Its plural is Latinxs.”
In proper Spanish, when speaking in general terms, we use the male form to imply both genders. Example: Latinos (men and women), instead of having to specify Latinas and Latinos.
Latinxs will cover both.
Do you think this is silly? Let’s see how quickly it catches on.
Be the first to comment