What’s in store for Kingston in 2008?
The "psychics" speak

As you can see, I spared no effort in my quest to seek out the greatest minds in the field of prognostication. With that said, I bring you their views on what lies ahead in the next 12 months.

Before beginning, however, let me add that I re-read my column of a year ago and (to my absolute shock) we actually got one prediction right – that the Red Sox would win the AL East.

Kingston is selected as the site for a League of Women Voter’s Presidential debate in advance of the February 5 "Super Tuesday" primary. The debate is held at the Kingston Intermediate School; and, although approximately 50 voters are disappointed to learn that they were not attending a special town meeting to vote on a 40R proposal, the event draws a huge crowd from Kingston and beyond.

The event begins on a civil note, but things turn ugly quickly. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Guliani get into a heated argument on the topic of illegal immigration; their exchange erupts into a fistfight. Kingston Police subdue the rowdy Republicans and jail them overnight to "cool their tempers." The event, telecast across the nation, once again thrusts Kingston into the national spotlight for the wrong reasons.

Mitt Romney’s chances in the later primaries are damaged somewhat by his telling one of Kingston’s finest, on camera, that "I’ll bust outta this joint if it’s the last thing I ever do."

Work begins on the "slip ramp" southbound exit onto Route 3, which is part of the 40R project. Suddenly, though, things go terribly wrong. The digging turns up the remains of Jimmy Hoffa, and the project comes to a swift halt.

The FBI descends upon Kingston to launch an investigation. Local law enforcement officials take the news in stride, saying, "At least this is one thing they can’t blame on the water here."

The Kingston Historical Society and Community Preservation Act Committee hear a proposal from several citizens to erect a Jimmy Hoffa Memorial on the site, but reject the proposal out of hand.

Kingston voters give the thumbs up to John McCain on the Republican side, and Barack Obama on the Democratic side, in the Presidential primary.

A special town meeting scheduled for late February fails to gain a quorum. Declaring, "Enough is enough," town officials begrudgingly agree that the Open Town Meeting form of government is not working and recommend converting from Open Town Meeting to a Mayoral form of government. The vote is scheduled for a May 2008 special town meeting.

Kingston is approached by the California company that has been courting nearby Plymouth to build a movie/filming studio, and suddenly Kingston is in contention to become "Hollywood East." The Sherman Oaks, California company, after encountering obstacles with Plymouth officials, fears that the delays will be too costly and looks to Kingston to become the host community.

Sensing the opportunity for additional revenues, and for fame (possibly for the right reasons, for a change), selectmen, the planning and zoning boards begin writing the zoning bylaw change that would be required to construct a movie studio.

A hastily-convened special town meeting gets a quorum (barely) and approves the "Hollywood East Overlay District Zone," which essentially rezones the entire town to allow for a movie studio to be built anywhere. "We aren’t going to miss out on this one," said one selectman, who conjectured that potential benefits from a Hollywood-like studio could "make the gifts offered from the 40R project look like chump change."

Kingston officials begin working with the California film company to find a suitable site. Locations considered include Camp Nekon, a lot adjacent to the Independence Mall, and a parcel on Evergreen Street initially proposed for a senior center. Ultimately, Camp Nekon is selected.

However, since no one in Kingston knows exactly where Camp Nekon is, selectmen enlist the assistance of a Global Positioning Service (GPS) company to pinpoint the location of the town-owned property.

A loophole in Kingston law reveals that no quorum is required at a meeting to convert the form of government from Town Meeting to Mayoral. At a special town meeting in May, attended by 47 people, the measure wins on a voice vote, and the town of Kingston is destined to become the "City of Kingston." The switchover is scheduled for early 2009.

Mauro Mazzilli takes out nomination papers to become Kingston’s first mayor.

Sources within both the Obama and Clinton Presidential campaigns say that each leading candidate is considering Tom O’Brien, current Plymouth County Treasurer, as his/her running mate in the general election.

To everyone’s surprise, Kingston emerges as a potential site for a new proposed Fenway Park, long under consideration by Red Sox officials. Originally, the preferred locale for the new Fenway had been thought to be South Boston. Yet, in a press conference at Kingston Town Hall, Red Sox bigwig Theo Epstein cites Kingston’s proximity to Boston, efficient rail service, and the belief that "unlike most towns, Kingston is a place where you can get something approved almost immediately." The Planning Board and Town Government Study Committee hastily draft a rezoning article, the "Red Sox Nation Overlay District," which would allow the park to be built anywhere in town.

A vocal citizens’ group protests the possibility of Fenway Park South, citing increased traffic and asserting that a baseball park will bring "undesirables" to Kingston.

In response, a member of the "Bring Fenway to Kingston" committee says, "These are the same crybabies who complained about the Pottle Street fields. We will do everything in our means to bring this ballpark to Kingston. We mean business."

Fred Tonsberg wins the Planning Board’s "Most Admired Developer" award for the fourth year in a row.

Work begins at Camp Nekon to build the "Hollywood East" studio. As the foundation digging begins, construction workers uncover a gushing oil geyser. Selectmen jettison plans for the movie studio and begin intense negotiations with the federal government to construct a refinery on the site instead. "It’s one heck of a find," says one of the board members, who then laments, "It probably means another zoning change."

The Red Sox win the American League East division. David Ortiz purchases a summer home on Rocky Nook, "just in case" Fenway is actually relocated here.

The Red Sox win the World Series (hey, a writer can dream, can’t he?). Mayhem erupts, however, during the famed Duck Boat World Series tour when a GPS error reroutes the tour from the streets of Boston to Rocky Nook instead.

The town loses its bid to be the host for Fenway Park South.

The community is shocked to discover that it is at the center of international (and possibly intergalactic) news. NASA announces that its SETI division (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) has confirmed the existence of intelligent life in outer space. NASA officials have been monitoring internal communications among government officials of a highly-advanced civilization several light years distant. The aliens reveal they have been monitoring some Earth communications for a number of years and were planning to visit our planet "in the spirit of friendship and exploration." However, because the only signals from Earth that they were able to clearly discern were conversations from a series of Kingston’s Town Meetings, they conclude that they will instead search for a more civilized world to visit.

For the second half of 2008, the real estate and construction markets rebound as the "slump" ends. Kingston sees a record number of building permit applications, for both new and residential construction. Town officials recognize that they are running out of open land to accommodate these subdivision and commercial requests.

They convene an emergency Town Meeting to weigh options. An initial suggestion to limit the number of new building permits is rejected by voters, who instead approve a series of legal maneuvers that will allow Kingston to take over the town of Plympton by eminent domain and use its considerable land for additional construction.

"We’ll call it Kingston west," a jubilant official decreed after the favorable vote.

Late in the evening on December 24, police apprehend a man, clad in a red and white suit with a large bag over his shoulder, attempting to gain entry into a house by climbing down a chimney. After hearing the individual’s story and determining that he is not inebriated, they send him on his way.