What Casinos Will do in Mass.: A Profile of Norwich, Conn.

Norwich, Conn.

November 20, 2011

Few people know this, but Foxwoods Casino wasn't always Foxwoods. Before it became the wonder in the Connecticut woods, Foxwoods was a bingo hall. I remember driving past it each summer when I was a kid sitting in the back of my family's station wagon, on the way to the Connecticut shore. A short road off of state highway 2 led to a low rise building. It looked pretty depressing, but at least it meant we were more than halfway to the coast and the family boat.

Foxwoods Casino opened in late 1992, when I was a junior in high school. The region was still struggling through a tough economic recovery, as the recession of the early 90's took away the demand for the region's defense-industry-driven technology and manufacturing. Foxwoods promised to be part of the answer, bringing jobs and revitalizing the beleaguered towns surrounding it. A sister casino, Mohegan Sun, came a few years later, located roughly ten minutes or so by car from Foxwoods, within the village of Uncasville, nestled by the Thames River at the site of the former United Nuclear Corporation, which was a victim of the aforementioned recession.

Uncasville, as the crow flies, is only a few miles from downtown Norwich, an area of the state that has struggled for decades to shake off an economic shroud suffocating its own development. It was one area the casinos were supposed to help.

It would make sense that to see what we can expect here in Massachusetts, now that casinos are on the way, one would travel to Norwich to see what has happened there in the 15 or 20 years since casinos first arrived. I warn you, it's a pretty depressing trip, for the depression that still grips downtown Norwich is a reason I don't live there.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I took the trip back to downtown Norwich with my brother Brett and his wife Holly. We drove from my parents' house after celebrating the 90th birthdays of both of my grandmothers, who were born in Norwich.

So I write this post with quite a bit of trepidation, because I love the area of Connecticut that I grew up in. The Norwich Free Academy, my high school with cheery blossoms, a museum and a sprawling campus befitting a small college, is only a short jog away from where I took the pictures and the videos for this post. It is my love of the area that fuels my frustration now, and I feel this post (as well as those sure to follow it on this topic) is necessary to show my neighbors in Massachusetts what to expect, and to explain why I am so definitively opposed to casinos here. So let's begin our tour.

All the pictures below were taken on Main Street in Norwich, Conn. on Sunday, November 20, 2011.

Not sure what Brett is looking at, as the shop is empty.

Last time I was here, this was a nightclub, which gave me hope, as this building was previously empty. It's empty again.

Pretty uninviting. Probably not best to be here at night.

Just one of many condemned buildings.

A pawn shop. Not that I needed to write that.

Just scary images all around.

The only businesses that have survived in downtown Norwich are those related to the courthouse there. There is a large law firm and a bail bond agency. Oh and then there's Billy Wilson's, the local watering hole.

We stopped in at a newer pub, The Harp & Dragon, for lunch. Amazingly, it was actually a pleasant experience. The football games were on, and the bartenders were wearing football uniforms. I spotted one of my high school classmates there.

"This place is pretty cool," I shouted out.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Makes you forget you are in Norwich."

Next time I go there, I will report back if the Harp & Dragon is still an option.

Why The Charles Street Market Matters

Charles Street Market

Boston

January 7, 2012

A zoning decision at Boston City Hall scheduled for February 28 could have a significant impact on the vibrancy of the Beacon Hill community in Boston. And in what could only be called ironic, protecting the neighborhood involves, as one neighbor pointed out in a community meeting this week, defending 7/11 community markets.

The issue involves a local supermarket, called the Charles Street Market, which sits at the corner of Charles and Mt. Vernon Streets on Beacon Hill. Many would call that corner the geographic epicenter of the community. There's significant foot traffic from residents and visitors. Mt. Vernon is one of the few two-way streets within Beacon Hill, while Charles Street is essentially the neighborhood's main street, and the market is located where they intersect. The community selects that corner each year as the location for its Christmas Tree. Local groups, such as the Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA), have significant plans for the spot, including a potential outdoor "mall" where traffic is prohibited.

Capital One Bank, which only recently entered retail banking, would like to take over the space occupied by the market. The bank has outbid the owner of the market to rent the space. The current building owner bought the property from the 7/11 market chain a year ago. He found a tenant willing to continue the market, and the shop changed names to the current Charles Street Market.

The possibility of losing the market has neighbors very upset. I attended community this past week on the issue. Representatives from Capital One and the owner of the building appeared before the Beacon Hill Civic Association's Zoning and Licensing committee. You see, in order for Capital One to move in, they need a variance from Boston's Zoning board, because the property in question is licensed as both retail and residential. As part of that process, they must appear before the community.

BHCA zoning & licensing committee meeting

74 Joy Street, Boston

January 4, 2012

I have never been to a better attended community meeting, including during the recent debate about the future of Suffolk University. The room was packed (others told me today the count was about 180). And in a manner that is somewhat atypical for my neighbors, we didn't pull out the pitchforks and torches. The reasoning for universal opposition to losing the market was quite rational.

One neighbor noted how the market is the only place on the street she can visit late at night when she feels threatened. Another talked about the over saturation of banks on Charles Street. Another noted how the neighborhood is being victimized by the bank--Capital One is placing branches in other strategic locations in downtown Boston, including in the Back Bay-- as part of a broader marketing strategy.

Perhaps the most sensible, and passionate, part of the meeting came when two well-known members of the local business community, Babak Bina (who owns two restaurants near Charles Street) and Ivy Turner (a local real estate agent), took the floor. Bina said it pained him, "as a fellow business owner, to oppose another business owner," but that Capital One's takeover of the corner would "hurt other businesses" on the street. He noted how several of the past presidents of the Beacon Hill Business Association (himself included) opposed the variance (e.g. they don't want the bank to come).

Turner's plea was conciliatory, and in my opinion, effective. She asked the owner of the building to work with local business owners, who would be willing to help to find an appropriate tenant for the space. Turner summarized the sentiment of the room-- that we all believe losing the market would hurt the neighborhood--in a way that provided the building owner an escape hatch. I only hope the owner will take it.

Civic Duty is Expensive

It cost me more than $400 to help Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley on election day.

For the past few years, I have taken a vacation day from my job on election Tuesday (this year it was November 8) to help out a candidate or two. While I enjoy the work, it's not really vacation-- I was awake and on the road by 6 a.m. on November 8th driving to the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, where I would help Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley.

Arriving in J.P. in the dark, I found a primo parking space, or so I thought. In typical paranoid Boston-resident fashion, I got out of the car and inspected the spot. [Boston residents are trained that any spot that looks legitimate probably is illegal. The spot is guilty until proven innocent, if you will.] After looking for a crosswalk, measuring the distance from the intersection, scanning the street for signs, and inspecting carefully the color of the paint on the curb, I made the determination the spot was legitimate.

My car parked in J.P.
Boston
November 8, 2011

Much to my dismay, a $100 parking ticket was waiting for me later in the morning. The charge was blocking a handicap ramp. I took photos, as I was upset enough that I planned to file an appeal (more on that later).

I hopped in my car and left the allegedly illegal parking spot to traverse J.P. and begin to knock on doors. After hitting a few dozen homes, I executed a three-point turn to continue my canvass. CRUNCH. My rear left taillight collided with a fire hydrant. I would learn today, almost too months later, that the repair will cost about 300 dollars, including tax. Honda specialists are fixing the light as we speak.

In the days between election day and today, I crafted a rather detailed letter explaining why I felt the parking spot in question in J.P. was legal. The day before Thanksgiving, I trekked to Boston City Hall and dropped off my appeal, along with a copy of the original citation and printouts of my photos.

Last week, I received a notice from the City of Boston informing me that my ticket had not been paid, and accordingly the fine was no longer $100-- it was now $133. The notice said nothing of my appeal; I assume it has been lost. Reluctantly, I paid the ticket, ending my attempt to appeal such a violation.

So 300 bucks for the taillight and another $133 for the ticket. At least Ayanna Pressley won.

Reflections on Sports In America

In the Fall of 2004, the Boston Red Sox faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. At the same time, Senator John Kerry faced President George W. Bush to be elected the most powerful man in the world. The Boston Globe posted an online poll, asking which scenario readers would prefer: A Red Sox victory (and the first team championship in 86 years) or a George Bush defeat (ending the administration of a president viewed very unfavorably by Massachusetts residents).

Boston Globe website visitors picked a Red Sox victory. It wasn't even close.

We have reached a scary state in America when it comes to athletics. For lack of any other name, perhaps it's the post-Sandusky era. I have found myself less interested in watching my own beloved UCONN Huskies. It could be because the men's basketball team won the national championship last April, so I am a bit complacent. However, I think the reasoning is far deeper. We idolize our athletic heroes too much. It's clearly having a negative effect on society as a whole.

As a kid growing up in the small cow town of Franklin, Conn., the only real recreational activities were sports. After school, you played soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring. Nothing else was offered. You either played those sports, or you watched them, or you stayed home.

Certainly athletics taught a lot. I learned how to play as a team, and to this day prefer team activities over individual ones. I learned how to stomach a loss. Believe me, I had a lot of practice. Dusting my rear off and getting back into the game was a matter of course. I learned that being competitive was ok, but that competitiveness can have a dark side. I also knew deep down inside, despite wearing off the leather from numerous basketballs in my parents' driveway, that I would never play in the NBA.

But things have gotten out of hand. The highest paid public employee in my home state is the Connecticut basketball coach. As much as I love Jim Calhoun and respect what he's done on the court, is he really worth more to my home state than the Governor? Or the most important emergency responders in the state? Or even the fire chiefs of Hartford or Bridgeport? In case you are wondering, the second highest paid state employee is the women's coach.

A year ago, my friend Scott Lauber and I were in Rome, among the ancient ruins and the Coliseum. Way back, the athletic heroes were the Gladiators, who were both feared and revered, until they were mauled by a tiger. We are so much more civilized now, aren't we? The tigers are gone, to be sure, but today we pay millions of dollars to idolize grown men who can hit a small sphere with a long stick. What will tourists two thousand years from now say about our civilization when they try to understand baseball?

The famous line from the movie "The Program" went like this: "People won't buy tickets to watch someone take an exam." In truth, sports have always been about money, given the capitalist society we live in. However, today's media-frenzied ultra-connected world has made sports about BIG money. It's disrupting the very fabric of the games. Certainly one reason I am disenchanted with college basketball is because the familiar brands of my youth are about to go poof. The Big East conference, the formidable collection of teams that defined my introduction to basketball as kid, is imploding.

As a teenager, I memorized the conference's schools. In one year, the mainstays are leaving. Pittsburgh. Syracuse. Boston College is already gone. Heck, Connecticut has apparently made it clear they are interested in bolting, too. They will be replaced by teams half-way around the country... or further. I certainly have nothing against Baylor, but realize that a team from Waco, Texas is about to join the Big East and perhaps that's just one point of evidence that something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

The movie had it right, too. Athletic teams are not just teams; they are programs. And few institutions, let alone individuals, have the courage to stand up to them. What happened at Penn State was not just a travesty of justice. It was a multiple-system failure where too many (and we're only beginning to learn how many) stood on the sidelines, too scared to speak up.

I still like to watch the games. I hope that's not wrong, given my new attitude. But no doubt I will watch them with a new sense of perspective. My dad and brother Mark had season's tickets to UCONN football. Next year, they are talking about watching high-school football games at my alma mater, the Norwich Free Academy, instead. I think I might join them. I know the coach there; we went to high school together, and I know for damn sure he's not making as much as Jim Calhoun.

Wired For Life

My maternal grandmother (Nana) chats with my brother Brett and his wife Holly via FaceTime.
Ledyard, Conn. (Brett and Holly are located in Arlington, Va.)
December 25, 2011

The best technologies do not leave a footprint. You buy them and incorporate them in your life--and it's as if they were never not there. You could not imagine operating without them. In fact, you quickly forget what it was like before.

I had that experience with my original cell phone, which I bought something like thirteen years ago, when the AT&T salesperson presented a deal to my company's employees, none of whom had mobile phones. I had that experience with my iPhone, which at the time of my purchase I fully intended to only use for work-related research. I anticipated flipping the AT&T SIM card back and forth between the iPhone and my old flip phone. Yeah, that didn't happen.

And I am definitely having that experience with the wi-fi in my apartment. My friend Scott Walters was the first person I recall who talked of having wireless Internet in his residence. I can't even remember when that was, but I remember wondering why I would ever want wireless in my home. Here I am, only a few years later, watching "No Strings Attached" via Netflix streaming through my Apple TV--while I surf the Internet and write this blog post. Last week, I was watching a movie while updating my Mac iOS devices--both of them.

My Christmas present to myself was a Sony Blu-ray player. They now cost less than a hundred dollars. The player comes with Internet access (though not through wireless, but rather through an Ethernet cable). I must say the Netflix quality on my Apple TV is better than through the Sony player.

On Christmas day, the family gathered at my parents house in Connecticut hosted a video conference call with my brother and his wife in Virginia. We used FaceTime on two iPads, one in each location. The conversation was brought to you by the wireless Internet available throughout both homes. I installed my parents' router three years ago. Their lives have also never been the same--they used wireless connectivity to find the plot of land for their new home. Mom and Dad, you are welcome. Merry Christmas.

Peyton Manning is Better than Tom Brady

One of my good friends roots for the Indianapolis Colts. I won't say her name to protect the innocent. She can vouch for my allegiance to the New England Patriots. She can also vouch for my steadfast belief that Peyton Manning is a better quarterback than Tom Brady.

Can there be any better evidence than this season? The Indianapolis Colts have yet to win a game. That's right. The Colts are through twelve weeks of the season and have pulled the infamous oh-fer. Zero wins. Eleven losses. (This post reflects today's Colts loss at home to the Carolina Panthers.)

The Colts were supposed to be a good team this year. There were supposed to compete in the AFC, potentially going deep in the playoffs. They were supposed to be contenders. And then Peyton Manning got hurt. From contender to Bad News Bears because of one player? Seems ridiculous, right? In fact, that's what has happened.

Certainly I have enjoyed the Colts season. However, the turn of fate for Indianapolis should put to rest, finally, the debate over which team's quarterback is better. What other team could have their season's chances turned so dramatically by the loss of one player?

Patriots fans should remember that it was not too long ago that Tom Brady was also injured early in the season. That was 2008. Yet the hometown Pats were able to win eleven games and just barely missed the playoffs.

The Patriots had a winning season without their quarterback. The Colts have yet to find a win without theirs. Which quarterback is better? I rest my case.

Bye, Bye 230 Third Avenue

My now former office

Waltham, Mass.
November 11, 2011

My entire professional career has been spent on one floor in one building in Waltham. I started at Schwartz Communications on June 2, 1997. Since then, I have moved among various cubes and desks on the fourth floor at 230 Third Avenue in Waltham. I settled in an office with a nice view of route 128. I have been in that office since July 2000.

Well, my company moved to new office space last night. As of Monday, I am in a new building around the corner, sitting in a new office. I am convinced, of course, I will forget, showing up at the old office. Maybe I will put a sticky note on my briefcase.

Boston Elections: What the Heck Happened?

Conventional wisdom can be pretty cynical. This past Tuesday's election in Boston was a municipal election. Only city council candidates were on the ballot. There wasn't a Mayoral race, which helps create more buzz and turnout. Conventional wisdom says the only people who vote in Boston in these types of elections are older white voters who vote along polarizing lines. They vote with their families, their heritage or according to organizations they belong to. This generally means bad things for minority candidates, or women, or anyone who doesn't live in the historically politically potent neighborhoods of the city.

The results from this past Tuesday's election did not follow conventional wisdom. And the reason might be dramatic changes in the electorate and population of Boston that have been seen in census data for years, and are finally... just perhaps... being seen at the ballot box.

Ayanna Pressley, and African-American woman, won more votes than any other candidate. Another minority candidate, Felix Arroyo, came in second. Michael Flaherty, a white well-known former city councilor who lives in a politically potent neighborhood, was left on the outside looking in by the voters. (The top four vote getters win at-large seats; Flaherty came in fifth.)

As I said, conventional wisdom can be pretty cynical, and the people who write about conventional wisdom are cynics. The initial reaction to Tuesday's result from a few reporters focused on how Pressley had a lot of help near the end of the campaign. There were political motivations-- some in the city did not want to see Flaherty win. There were personal motivations-- Pressley is now, indeed, the only woman on the city council. And there were sentimental motivations-- Pressley has had a rough year, having lost her mother over the summer following a long bout with illness.

The conventional wisdom from these reporters emerged that Pressley won because of a lot of reasons somewhat outside of her control that converged Tuesday. Once thought to be the most vulnerable candidate, Pressley ended up topping the ticket.

I tend to be way more optimistic (sometimes in a naive way), so while I agree with some of the arguments of the cynics, I believe (and hope even more) that the reason for Pressley's win is a dramatic shift within the Boston electorate. When I wrote earlier of my support for Pressley on this blog, I noted how she (along with other candidates I voted for) represent the Boston of the future. I think a lot of voters who went to the polls Tuesday voted with the future in mind.

Boston is vibrant and diverse. It's impossible not to see that if you live here. And whatever your race or gender or background, we all want to see that vibrancy and diversity in our elected officials. Again, I might be naive, but I think that's why we saw the result we did on Tuesday.

It's worth noting that in my neighborhood of Beacon Hill, voters cast their ballots in a similar way to the city at large. This is surprising to some, since Michael Flaherty did well here when he ran for Mayor two years ago. It wasn't a surprise to me. As ethically homogeneous as my neighborhood might be, the voters here are quite progressive. Michael Flaherty just couldn't disconnect himself from his previous tenure on the city council in the minds of my neighbors. And, like I said before, everyone likes to look forward and think about the future when they enter the voting booth.

Congratulations to all of the candidates elected Tuesday. And a special congratulations to friend Jessica Taubner, Ayanna Pressley's campaign manager, on a wonderful victory! Get some rest, Jess!