From Richard Russell
I’m Baack! Zuck You, Mucky! So much has happened in the 6 weeks that where Funny Business social media unceremoniously deleted 14 years posts, etcetera for an unknown violation of community standards; but what do you expect from a Havid dropout! There have been 6 weeks of political turmoil in Lawrence that no one can blame on me. Now that I have a media outlet to post my 2 cents on, should I just go ahead and plead guilty to everything that happens from this point forward? LOL!
russelloflawrence.com
Are things getting worse?
There are several things going on in Lawrence that only a little is being said about them, and readers look to Rumbo for information. Rest assured that if you see anything in these pages, it is confirmed as true. The problem is that there is such secrecy going on that it is impossible to find out anything worth writing.
My favorite topic is the Lawrence Redevelopment Authority (LRA) continuing to do what it wants, and no one seems to care. I have lots of questions about what they are doing and never hear from anyone with an explanation or correction to my theories. I enjoyed attending their meetings and even volunteered as part of the committee to review the requested proposal Unfortunately, during the past two months, I have not been able to go or even watch the meetings, but I was present at the November 20th meeting. I learned that beginning January 1, 2025, the LRA will be a separate entity paying its employees on W-9, not 1099.
There was also a financial report from Mr. Cintrón, who apparently was brought in by Octavien Spanner. He offered a Management Report, Lawrence Redevelopment Authority, for the period ending October 31, 2024. He mentioned the figure of over $800,000 spent by the LRA this year. Some board members questioned things like “building materials” but nothing meaningful. The only member who asks questions is Sara Perez. It’s annoying that nobody seems curious about such a significant expenditure.
Let’s remember that the City Council gave the LRA $2.5 million back in the Spring, and I remember that President Jeovanny Rodríguez said they were to report how they used it. Again, nobody’s asking.
There’s too much secrecy at City Hall. We request information that should be made public, and it is either denied or ignored. I try very hard to gather information, documents, and statements to write about facts, and I never gossip, and they make it very difficult.
A perfect example is that we could go on the city’s webpage and copy the minutes from meetings of the City Council and subcommittees, the LRA, and the Commission on Disability. They are no longer published there. We are living in the dark. Where is the transparency? I don’t have the time to report to the Attorney General or the Inspector General of the Commonwealth every time I am denied a request or discover any wrongdoing, but something must be done.
Christmas officially starts in Lawrence…
People may think I’m picking on Fidelina Santiago, District A councilor, but what should I do? I’m just trying to teach her how to do things, but she doesn’t listen.
She planned to have a Christmas tree lighting party at Storrow Park, but when she was told that there are rules for those activities and that she should have brought it up before the city council, it was too late to go as the rules required. Instead, she is going ahead with her plans, showing the community how rules can be violated by city councilors while everyone else must ask for permission. That’s a leader for you!
There was a question about whether the Department of Public Works would provide the electricity for the festivity, but later, it was discovered that there was no power at that park, resulting in the use of a generator.
Mayor Brian DePeña was upset because no holiday celebration was to take place until he lit up the tree across city hall, marking the beginning of the season. He probably was not strong enough because she is going with the date she had set, beating him to the punch.
Matías is back at the mayor’s office
No matter how I say this, many of you will misinterpret it. Santiago Matías and Milagros know very well that I am their friend and have no hesitation in calling them when I need something, but there is something that must be said.
Matías has had his pick of jobs with the city and, most recently, was the mayor’s Chief of Staff. Lately, he has been acting strangely (that’s the softest word I could find to describe him), and then one day, he walked off the job and later rendered a resignation letter.
He was lucky that Mayor DePeña took him back beginning next Monday, and this decision confused me because he’s giving the wrong message to city employees and the community at large as being lenient, soft, and sensitive, and that’s not what the maximum authority in the city should be like.
Then, someone sent me this paragraph that Matías wrote on his Facebook page:
“Greek mythology tells us about Antaeus, who was a giant warrior. His mother was Gaea, the earth goddess, and he was invincible because when he was knocked down, the earth gave him more strength. The defeat gave him more strength. Do you know anyone like that?”
He went on to say that whenever he falls, he gets up stronger and other things, sounding like an egotistical spoiled brat. You didn’t fall, you quit! How about a bit of humility instead of arrogance?
My reason for bringing those two stories is to show that something very important is missing from the mayor’s office: character. He is the maximum authority in the city and should not allow anyone to walk all over him.
Don’t think for a moment that I don’t want to do something about Michael Owens, the former personnel director. I am not going to do something that I may regret later for not being complete or truthful. I may just have to go to the attorney general to force the city to tell me the truth about what went on.
The way I understand it thus far is that he was within the probation period that allowed the city to dismiss him from the job, and there were serious reasons to fire him. That’s another area in which the mayor has shown his weakness. The fear that someone might sue the city paralyzes everyone giving in to their demands. At that pace, we will waste the entire surplus if we give it away without a fight.
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