Many downtown Melrose businesses are in trouble. As I shopped local over the weekend, I made a point of asking questions. Business revenue is way down all over downtown! Delayed construction projects and poor city planning is partly responsible. Melrose is no longer visually inviting, A few owners also said customers mentioned the uncertain economic news from Washington and the Melrose Override. People do not have the money to spend and/or are afraid to spend because they don’t know what will happen next. Anxiety and uncertainty is affecting business across the board.
Nice anecdote, unfortunately you have made it up. Conveniently, the Melrose Chamber of Commerce recently endorsed the override efforts.
https://melrose.wickedlocal.com/news/20190130/melrose-chamber-of-commerce-endorses-override
Good try though...get a different slant.
Maybe. Maybe not. Who cares if the chamber of commerce endorses the override? Get a different slant.
The Chamber has always acted in full synch with city officials. They are all in it together and could not care less about ethics, integrity, or what is actually serving the public good. When it was the child rapist at the Y who savaged children for 14 years right in the middle of downtown Melrose (after Malden had warned Melrose not to hire the monster!), the Chamber circled the wagons of public scrutiny and accountability. Together with RD (and Joe C, whose first act as the bumbling idiot he was--RD's boy all the way--was to walk down Main St to an attorney for indemnification because he had signed on to allow the school district to have the monster conduct an unlicensed program in city school buildings!) and the whole lot of BOA and SC they made sure to protect themselves and their nasty dark hole of secrets and wrongdoing. They published front page testimonials in protection of the Y instead of doing what any decent people elsewhere would have done and defended the children and families who had been forever deeply harmed. The "investigation" was closed down quickly and no one even tried to find out about the 14 years of videos with many other Melrose children (now adults) beyond the 2 whose brave families came forward. The PD had its hands tied, and the DA had to file charges because no one local would. The Chamber made sure to rally all the local drinking ("philanthropy") clubs to join in the filthy coverup, with every other one of them self-righteously proclaiming the virtues of the city and Y officials. They tied it all in a big hideous knot with RD's fake feelgood blue-lights kumbaya handholding ceremony at Mem Hall, proclaiming Melrose as a child-safe zone forever after. The Chamber's hideously disgraceful conduct during that episode perfectly illustrates just how low it will go to protect its own. And it's all the same players, more or less, now, by the way, with a few new faces on BOA and SC, all still totally in the tank with their party line.
Surely you didn't hear the Chamber come out in defense of children when it was the black students that the federal government exposed Melrose has having abused systemically. Those students weren't really deserving because they weren't "true Melrosians" and should be grateful even that they "get" to go to school here (and shut their mouths and not complain). But the Chamber will self-righteously align around this bogus override scam that is supposedly "for the children."
Have you ever once heard the leadership of the Chamber come out publicly in any position about anything that was in opposition to the status quo? Didn't think so. As long as the focus stays on the Vic Fair and plenty of golf and liquor, the "powers that be" will bestow their imprimateur, especially if it can pipe-and-drape itself over the filthy problems under the table.
Ding, ding, ding!!! We have added a NEW conspirator to the Greatest Hits of Melrose Messages! “The Chamber of Commerce is IN THE BAG for RD!!!” It is uncanny: anytime anyone or any organization supports something that the administration also supports that means THE FIX IS IN!
I think the Salavtion Army also supports the override. THEY STEAL THE BEST CLOTHES FROM THE DONATIONS AND GIVE THEM TO DOLAN and his CRONIES!
The MBTA? THEY WERE GIVING THE BEST PARKING SPOTS AT THE COMMUTER RAIL TO RD and GI as a KICK BACK! HAVE YOU EVER SEEN HOW MANY TIMES THE RAIL CROSSING GATES ARE LOWERED AT RUSH HOUR?? I HAVE REQUESTED THE RECORDS ON THIS BUT CONTINUE TO BE DENIED!!!! RD IS TRYING TO SCREW ME BECAUSE I LIVE NEAR THE LINCOLN SCHOOL!
Seriously, if everyone is always against you then maybe you’re the problem.
Get a different slant.
Or maybe he's right.