OMG! It’s burning outside!
It’s record-breaking… It’s never been like this in this part of the country… It’s because of climate change!
STOP IT! It’s summer and it has always been like this at this time of the year. Besides, this is the temperature people go looking for in Florida.
Creating a Thriving Lawrence Program
Last Sunday, there was an announcement on Facebook reading as follows:
“All fathers, residents of Lawrence, are invited to bring their children for a FREE boat ride on the Merrimack River. The event will take place today, Sunday, July 9, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Greater Lawrence Community Boating, located at 1 Eaton Street, Lawrence, MA. This event is organized by Dadurday Legacy Inc. in collaboration with the City of Lawrence. Please share this information.”
What caught my attention was that it was posted at 12 o’clock and I am curious if it had been promoted by any other means in advance. In speaking to Octavier Spanner at the Mayor’s office, he said that it was already planned when they met on Wednesday and agreed that “the City of Lawrence would help them because this is a great and necessary program for our children.”
Mr. Spanner gave me the organizer’s name for more information. Mr. Frank Audy explained that he runs Dadurday Legacy Inc. to involve fathers who may not have much contact with their children for different reasons and this program allows them to do fun things together.
This is a voluntary 12-week program he started in 1997, while he was a probation officer. They hold educational activities that are designed to strengthen family relations and at the end of the 12-week period, the families meet at The Claddagh Pub for dinner and for the past 25 years, the restaurant has picked up the tab for about 90 people.
Their next scheduled event will take place on August 26 at Campagnone Common and play games from 1 to 5 pm.
Now that he is retired, Mr. Audy is in the process of getting his non-profit registered with the Commonwealth.
Dadurday Legacy Inc. appears on the list of organizations receiving funding a couple of weeks ago; Dadurday Legacy Inc. He had requested $12,000 and was granted $10,000. Since he had not registered his organization properly with the Commonwealth, he will not be getting that money but the City will continue supporting him in recognition of the value his program carries.
In a similar situation, My Lifeline Inc. requested $50,000 and it was granted but later denied due to “incongruencies” found in the application for funding. I have not been able to get the letter from the Ethics Commission that, supposedly, approved it but Mayor Brian DePeña’s letter to Linette Perez states, “Although your application was contingent upon the approval of the State Ethics Committee, further evaluation revealed some inconsistencies and therefore, it is in the City of Lawrence’s best interest to reject the application at this time.”
Ms. Perez contacted the Ethics Commission asking for advice while trying to clarify her situation. She claims that she misread or misunderstood a question on the application and answered “no” when it should have been a “yes.” She explained that one of the board members is no longer on the board (Rosanna Delrosario) and admits that her husband and son work for the City as well as two other board members whose father and brother are City employees.
Their advice was taken straight from Massachusetts General Laws c.268A regarding conflict of interest.
“You work for the City of Lawrence Police Department. You are also an unpaid member of the Board of Directors of a non-profit that has applied to the City of Lawrence for a grant. The city of Lawrence job you hold is unrelated to the non-profit.”
“…you may not act as an agent for the non-profit in connection with any particular matter in which the City of Lawrence is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.” And also, “…you may not use your City time, title, or resources in connection with your non-profit service.”
This sounds a bit deceiving because she failed to clarify that she will be serving women and children suffering from abuse and domestic violence, which is exactly her job at the police station. Also, she listed referrals to employers, monitor employees’ performance, monitors the child’s social development and academic progress, and rides and transportation. Was she going to transport them in police cruisers? Was she planning to do all that in the evenings?
It was suggested that Linette Perez needs to be fired but we know that Mayor DePeña will not do that. There are other employees deserving of that and he won’t listen.
Some of these actions make some people question the accuracy of how Mayor DePeña is spending money. For example, Ateneo applied for $241,000 and received $200,000 under the name of Ateneo Dominicano de Nueva Inglaterra. Then, under New England Cultural Center / Ateneo #2, requested $200,000 and got $75,000 with the same board of directors as the original Ateneo and the same address. The idea is to rent a big space in that building to hold events but nothing has been done as yet.
That reminds me of when Marie-Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake” in the middle of a famine. My personal opinion is that there are so many needs that could be fulfilled with that money given to organizations for the purpose of partying and good times, such as the homeless.
Mayor DePeña says that the city has a lot of money. He’s very lucky because the government allowed him to transfer the ARPA money left over from the COVID epidemic into free cash. What’s going to happen next year?
More news about Chief Vasque’s retirement
City Councilor at-Large Ana Levy posted the following announcement on her Facebook page on July 13, 2023:
“I, Ana Levy, want to state on the record that I am neither in favor nor against the decisions made regarding the Chief of Police Roy Vasque. The reasons why I make this statement are because I do not know the results of the investigation, nor did I participate in the decisions made in this investigation. Please direct any inquiries or requests for information regarding Chief Vasque to the office of the Honorable Mayor Brian DePeña.”
We must now wonder if that was the same with the rest of the councilors.
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