Another gas scare
Last Friday morning, people in South Lawrence were awaken at 4 AM and urged to evacuate their homes. There was a strong smell of gas in the area of South Broadway near Carleen’s Coffee Shop and everyone thought it was déjà vu (all over again).
Based on the experience of just a year ago, city officials and Columbia Gas mobilized their resources; gas service and electricity were shut off and Arlington and Weatherbee schools became shelters. Food was delivered for breakfast, pillows and blankets were rushed in while they looked for the source of the gas leak.
It was sad watching the fear that there would be a repeat of what the city went through with the gas explosions but by the afternoon, Ted Daniels, a Channel 25 reporter covering the news said that during a press conference at one o’clock city officials or Columbia Gas gave no indication of what really happened beyond just a leak.
“A year ago the explosion was in the same area and we are still being affected, some merchants are selling their businesses, other residents are moving away, many people are living in fear or panic, but everything is fine and under control according to the authorities and Columbia Gas,” said Pastor Luis Piñeyro.
“Where are the councilors of South Lawrence? Soon there will be elections for councilors; this is the best time to get rid of most of them and watch out for those they are pushing to continue in control of the council,” Pastor Piñeyro continued. “We have to stop this! Isn’t this corruption?”
At this press conference, Governor Charlie Baker, Senator Barry Finegold and Mayor Dan Rivera showed their anger towards Columbia Gas calling it “unacceptable” among many other things. That was before they even knew the cause.
So, Mr. Daniels set out to investigate and found out about the pipes not being properly marked and the problem was created by the contractor hired by the city.
When the news came out, Mayor Rivera stopped talking to the media. One of the newscasts showed a female reporter running after him to get a statement and turned around only to keep walking away from her.
At first, people said it was the Water Department workers but then it was clarified that it was a contractor working for the city. I have been trying to find out what company was hired to do that work but, apparently, it is being kept secret and I’d like to know.
Later that day, most residents evacuated from their homes were able to return and have their appliances checked and relighted by Columbia Gas.
Columbia Gas was found to have failed by not marking the pipes correctly and is working with the city to correct the problems and make residents whole.
November 5 Elections
We have to start repeating over and over again that we have elections on November 5. It’s unbelievable the number of people who didn’t know about last week’s District C’s match. Of 6,092 registered voters on District C, only 335 ballots were cast on the primary or 5.50%. That’s shameful! An embarrassment!
I heard excuses of all kinds. Some people complained that the Elections Department should send cards to each voter reminding them to vote and where because lots of them don’t know. Others said that the city should publicize an announcement in the local media. Well, Rumbo had a half-page public service announcement for several weeks on the Primary and the radio kept talking about it on a daily basis. People don’t read newspapers, don’t listen to radio, or just don’t care.
That is a sign of either, satisfied with the way the city is being run or that they no longer care about our future. How can we make the public understand that this is their opportunity to have an input on the city management?
First of all, we have elections for City Council in a few weeks. The mayor and SEIU are instructing voters to vote for Celina Reyes for Councilor at-Large ALONE, not for three as it is allowed. We can vote for three councilors at-large from six appearing on the ballot. Dan has managed to have his people on every board and commission in the city which allows him to get his wishes granted. Now, he wants to pack the council by insuring that Celina gets in with a bullet vote.
Whatever his intention, we should not follow him blindly to the point of giving away our rights to suit his purpose.
Danny has achieved one thing successfully: Most boards and commissions in the city don’t have sufficient members to meet. The Human Rights and Disability Commissions have disappeared; the Council on Elders has not met for one year; the Historical Commission and the Licensing Board, the same. Why is he spending so much effort promoting certain candidates and spending his own campaign funds to get them elected while neglecting the groups that cannot work due to not having a quorum?
The city business is done by these boards and commissions; if they don’t meet, the city stands still – and that’s the way Danny wants it. By being able to blame residents for their lack of interest to serve, he has a good excuse.
