MMTV always replayed the board meetings so viewers could watch when they wanted. My doctor prescribed them for my insomnia and it worked wonders for years.
For the last couple weeks they only post a graphic showing the time of the next meeting and aren't replaying them. It only shows now, "BOA Meeting June 5 Live at 7pm, Comcast ch 22 Verizon ch 38." The graphic doesn't lull me to sleep like the meetings did. What's happening at MMTV? Did the DVD player break?
Maybe they figure the less people see them the better.
Well, at lease they solved that pesky open meeting law thing. Can't say they aren't disclosing things now. They're disclosing us all to sleep!
What country are you from Yugdlo? You aint got no grasp of the england language!
No programming on the city channel or the school one
How much does cry-me-a-river loves-peacocks Margolis soak the taxpayers for (in addition to her $12,000+ a year for GIC) in her salary from MMTV? And isn't that a clear violation of city charter for her to be taking a salary from the same municipality she serves as an elected, compensated ($4,000) official? And is she the one who took the cue from Mr. 26% to make sure the citizens don't see the meetings except for the absolute minimum viewing? Bad enough that the only "news" the citizens now see is what Mr. 26% allows B to write and submit to the papers, but now the last avenue of factual resource has been basically shut down. Melrose now has its own Iron Curtain. Maybe Vladimir Doughboy will try to send the owner of this site to the Gulag again....
Long vacation--how many weeks is this supposed to go on? Methinks there is some new "policy" to air meetings only the minimum they can get away with, which is unacceptable.
It's been going on for weeks like this.
Looks like mmtv is back to replaying the meetings as usual. The school committee is on tonight. Why can't they put streaming video of the meetings on their web site? Other towns do and it works fine. MMTV web site doesn't get any attention at all. The programming schedule is always behind. Can't the public relations person maintain the web site better or get someone else to do the job?
That whole place needs an overhaul. Out with the old and in with the new. Lots and lots of paychecks being cut there. Something isn't right
Who's ever in charge of that channel is doing a lousy job. Nothing but the same trash over and over. It's not funded by tax dollars though. That's the only thing keeping it open. But it's wasted space.
You rascal! LOL! The money isn’t going to the mayor. But a portion of it goes to Alderman Mary Beth McAteer Margolis’ salary who is the director of MMTV. So it is rather curious when things “get heated up” that the re runs of the School Committee and the Alderman meetings “disappear” only to be replaced with those blank screens.
Alderman Margolis does have a knack of living off the Municipal dole though. She also takes a salary in Winchester as a library assistant where former Malden Mayor Richard Howard is the town manager. This is the same Richard Howard that Dolan tried to hire as Melrose’s city solicitor when he was also the mayor of Malden until the ethics commission put a stop to that part time relationship.
Our city charter (and the ethics laws of our commonwealth) forbid taking any remuneration or holding more than one paid position in the city. Yet this woman is doing just that! We SHOULD be concerned because our tax dollars are paying for her GIC health insurance, a stipend as an alderman and finally a salary at MMTV where she has direct oversight of the fiscal management of a tax funded community program. I want my 3 bucks back!
A few years ago I pointed out the Wendy “mother Theresa” Golini was serving on the School Committee (although she hardly showed up) and was also being paid to sling hash at Memorial Hall. I made a stink about that and eventually she resigned from the school committee. I think it’s about time I make anther stink.
As soon as I get my public records request back from the Charter School, this will be my next public service. I think I’ll send an email to the aldermen this week end giving them an opportunity to address the issue and force Margolis to choose between being an alderman or a director of MMTV. If that doesn’t work then the ethics commission won’t have a problem of deciding after my complaint is filed. They could find that she is to pay back all the tax payer dollars she was paid as a violation of state law.
MM-M said during the campaign that she was looking into health insurance. Did she ever buy her own or does she continue to abuse city taxpayers with participation in GIC? She only kept her seat by 50 votes. Hopefully Zwirko will run again and other candidates as well. Then she will lose the next time around and have to buy her own health insurance. She owns 3 houses in NH, Florida and Melrose. Enough $ for 3 Real Estate tax bills but she has the nerve to have Melrose residents pay her family health insurance!
If I am paying $3 a month for the same Beatles cover band that seems to be the only show they have then I definitely want a refund. I hear a lot of payroll checks are cut out of that place but its programming is stagnant. The "community outreach person" isn't doing a good job.
Ease up on Crocodile Tear's Florida home. She only gets to use it 6 to 7 weeks a year during the winter months.
#1) The stations for the government and high school channel were not operating for several weeks due to the computer video server being out of order and it took some time to have it replaced and re-programmed.
#2) As always, if you don't like the programming you see on the station, go produce some yourself. The station does not produce any programming on their own, thats NOT why they are there. The station exists to provide classes and equipment to Melrose residents who are members of MMTV to produce their own shows.
#3) As far as I know, there are only 3 paid employees of MMTV
#4) While there may not be a ton of programs being produced at MMTV, I can think of more than a few. The music shows, the sports talk show, the Julie Nolan show, the Bob Snow and Frank show, the Real Estate show, the health show, the garden show, the religion show, the TC Restani show, the wrestling show, the movie review show...
#5) There is no connection between Melrose city government and MMTV. MMTV is required to provide government access programming, but the money from the cable companies is not city money. There is a contract between the city and cable companies to provide community access television. The fact the an alderman is also an employee is a non-factor.
#6) I hear that in the future there is a plan to stream the programming to the web
The fact that Margolis is an alderman and reviews the cable contract with the city is a conflict of interest as she also benefits financially as she is employed by MMTV. Not that hard to figure out. And our tax dollars on our monthly bill do pay for that programing which holds her accountable on 3 different levels.[:-?]
This board is douche central. This is a small city. Some people want to get involved to make it a nice place to live and then douche-bags like "crocodile" take anonymous pot shots. I'm quite sure that nobody gets rich off of MMTV yet you douche-bag conspiracy theorists act as if this is a major scandal. If you are unhappy with MMTV, go down there and make your own show. If you are unhappy with Margolis, either get enough people to vote her our or run against her yourself. If you admit that you are the douche-bag that I say you are, send a reply to this post.
Some people get involved, not to "make it a nice city," but rather for their own gain and glory, such as it is. Some profit quite tidily, as does this elected official, with her gushing praise and fake tears for Mr. 26%, for whom she was all sympatico when it served her GIC interest. It's a racket, and the real douchebags are those maintaining and profiting from the status quo (and their suck-up supporters) at the expense of the greater good.
Knock knock knock....Excuse me Mr. Douche. I think this about covers Ms. Margolis' situation. It's against the law. Simple.
Section 20 of G.L. c. 268A, the conflict of interest law,
prohibits a municipal employee from having a financial interest,
directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a municipal agency
of the same city or town, in which the city or town is an
interested party, of which financial interest he has knowledge or
reason to know, unless an exemption applies.
And then there is this Mr. Douche...
Section 19 of the conflict of interest law, in relevant part,
prohibits a municipal employee from participating in any particular
matter in which he/she, his immediate family or his partner,
a business organization in which he serves as an officer,
director, trustee, partner or employee or (iii) a person or
organization with whom he is negotiating or has an arrangement for
prospective employment has a financial interest.
You need to pick Mary Beth....
I didn’t leave anything out. I didn’t realize I was required to quote the entire statute. Good thing you are capable of looking it up!
Take a look at… http://www.mass.gov/ethics. Just because she has disclosed her position at MMTV publically doesn’t mean that it’s kosher. Ultimately the committee will decide. Look at the opinions section. There are many senarious similar to Mary Beth’s that have been ruled a violation.
The fact that we have an elected public official that has direct access to programing creates an ethical issue of undue influence. Not to mention the fact that a portion of her salary is paid by the citizens of Melrose, and that she is also paid again as an alderman by Melrose voters. You can't disclose a way everything especially when it is illegal in the eyes of the law and our city charter.
We will just have to wait and see.as8
As usual the Fellowship of the Miserable got a bee in their bonnets and as usual nothing will happen. Good day.
It's funny how they consistently post half the story and hope no one will notice.
This is getting hilarious. Now we are concerned that "an elected public official has direct access to programming." Really??? Do you think the episodes of the dancing Quincy or 2 old guys talking about girls basketball will sway voters? What a joke. This gets back to my original point. Some folks like to get involved to try to make our small city a little better. Folks who come from elsewhere, where apparently everyone is a scumbag, think that every action by anyone connected to the city is corrupt. Sorry, this isn't D.C. If you want your own show, go down and make it. Bob Snow certainly has his show.
What is even more laughable is that on June 21 the globe did a feature on how the Mystic Valley Charter School is trying to expand but the state is denying their application. Among the issues that state has with them is that the state wants the board of the charter school to have term limits. The board refused, going so far as to suggest to the state that any new members will have term limits but existing board members will be grandfathered on the board in perpetuity. The board has thumbed their nose at the state. Many of these board members have family members (some multiple family members) that have been appointed to salaried positions at the charter school. The state wants term limits on the charter boards to get rid of this exact abuse of taxpayer dollars and the Mystic Valley Charter School is fighting the state. These un-elected officials are using Melrose taxpayer dollars to hire family members.
Instead of getting upset about this, folks on here have an issue with an elected official running a local access TV show. Give me a break, there is no genuine concern for taxpayers here; just another vendetta against the city. Spare me the GIC discussion. This is the worst kept secret in Melrose. As a taxpayer if I don’t like the fact that an Alderman takes advantage of the GIC health insurance I have the option to vote that person out of office. As a taxpayer, if you don’t like the fact that the charter school uses your money to hire multiple family members without accountability what can you do????....Absolutely nothing. Now that is something to complain about.
OK...any my point is that you have the power to vote as you wish. Now what will you do about the Charter School board that is using your money to give jobs to their siblings?
Attempt by City Hall to deflect once again from Melrose issues...Charter schools shouldn't exist..If there are abuses of the powers and structures at the Charter ...Mr.26% and GIC taking Aldermen should earn their keep and show the leadership they pretend to live !
That won't happen because Dolan is buddies with (and a protege of) Richard C. Howard, the town manager of Winchester and former Mayor of Malden (the same Richard C. Howard that Dolan tried to appoint as city solicitor while he was still Mayor of Malden), and who is buddies with Neil Kinnon, founder of MV and chairman of the MV Board of Trustees.
Incorrect. Melrose television is run by a board of directors featuring Aldermen Boiselle and wilderbeast Infurna. They meet every month and oversee, mmtv maybe you should join them. there are three employees and a fourth from malden tv to tape city meetings. MBMM is there salaried as community outreach to recruit new members and recruit business to sponsor the non existent channel. she produces her own new show with jason lewis. everyone pays the same percentage per month on their cable bill to go towards the channel. she contributes an hour there per week along with two hours at winchester library on salary along with three hours per week as an Alderwoman. they went from being open five hours per day monday-friday to being open afternoons.
------> great group she uses MMTV's "outreach" funds to join on!
I'm disappointed that there are some citizens still fooled by members of the Ultimate Insiders Club. The school committee gets clowns to run because there's little chance of them obtaining perks. It's different with the BOA. Boiselle will be collecting his free insurance from the city shortly as soon as he retires from his plush no show job with the state. Mortimer is hoping he can continue to cash in on the free meals offered to seniors on Tuesday's for life. MBM is using money from your Verizon and Comcast bills earmarked for outreach to use it to make more Melrose Insiders connections while not informing Rotary that she's not actually a member but an employee representing Melrose television as they're writing the check for her to be there and take all of the Rotary overnight trips. That's why your cable bill is going up folks. Dolan got his 26% and now wants nothing more than GI MBM PM etc to go far away.
Aldermanic leadership? That's an oxymoron.
If you don't like the BOA, run against them. I think the BOA does a good job. I wouldn't say the same thing about the SC. Other than the overwhelming minority opinion on this board that the mayor shouldn't have gotten a raise the BOA has been free of controversy. I don't count the health insurance issue. The State Law and GIC says they are entitled to health insurance. You don't like it, change it...by either defeating them in office or changing the law. I don't like my taxes being used for a number of different programs in the State and Country...but its life, so I live with it and make sure I vote every election.
Personally, I like this one:
“Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
But my favorite quote for the whiners on this board is this one form Big Ted. Criticize the politicians all you want, but they had the b@lls to put themselves out there.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Hey! That last quote you lifted from me and my interview with the Free Press!
Just for the record, I beleive there is an asterik at the end of the quote with a footnote that states:
*Quote does not apply to convicted felons. I'm quite sure stealing wasn't the arena Big Teddy was referring to.