SUIT CASE: Our information suggests that the most interesting segment of a lawsuit against the 40-R process centers on the ‘Confidential Agreement’ between the developer and the Indian Pond Neighborhood Association. One can only assume that the next phase of that action would involve the ‘discovery’ stage that would seek documents and depositions. A FinCom member sits on that Association along with Selectman Jean-Landis Naumann. The deal involved paying out money and professional resources in return for positive votes for the 40-R.

TED’S BACK: Four years ago Ted Alexiades ran against John LaBrache for Treasurer. The event marked only the second time we ever endorsed a candidate. That endorsement was for LaBrache, who did win and became a fine public official. While we endorse no one in this four way race, we do ask people to remember that Alexiades, who earned the nickname ‘Teflon Ted’, could never put in the time necessary for the job. He has full-time commitments in the Town of Hingham and would place tension in the department. Ted earned the nickname by slipping out of highly questionable activities during his stint as Chairman of the Ballfield Committee. He narrowly kept his job in Hingham 0n a 2-1 vote after an audit revealed that computer equipment was inappropriately handled under his charge. We don’t want to do a re-hash of history, but you have three other guys to choose from in that four way race. If you want to know more we suggest you go to kingstonobserver.com and navigate to Google (The newspaper’s internal Google search found on the right side of the home page). The stories that follow will make you sick all over again.

TURDLE TALK: Selectman Mark Beaton is now becoming amused by his own jokes. When the question was asked at Town Meeting why the 35 acre Virginia Davis property was not moved to zone it as a wind turbine overlay, he said it was because of the existence of five (5) turtles. He said something about whether they reside there, and suggested that they are equipped with a GPS unit on their shell. Well, wasn’t that a thigh thumper. Well, that stunted explanation was not only stupid, it was a bold faced lie. The real reason the Article was not moved was because Virginia Davis, a Plymouth resident, had never been approached by the Green Committee who were sponsoring the Article. This was discovered at the Planning Board hearing that occurred weeks prior to the ATM in which she revealed this travesty. At that time she indicated that a ‘concerned citizen’ had called her with the news and the fact that a hearing was scheduled for that night. She stated that Mr. Geisinger has her land under option, but she still remains the owner. Credible information provided to the Observer suggests that the woman is represented by Attorney Larry Winokur. We were told that Winokur let the Selectmen know, through Kevin Donovan, that if the Article went forward and was passes, a lawsuit would quickly follow. The other point of stupidity on Beaton’s part is the revelation that an endangered species exists on the Davis property. If the property sounds familiar, it should…Lloyd Geisinger hold an option on the land that has been earmarked for the groundwater discharge site of his alleged 730 housing units along with additional commercial acreage. Why would somebody who has sold their soul to the 40-R deities, make such a blunder?

SCOUT SUNDAY: Girl Scout Sunday was well attended and pancakes flew out in suggested record numbers. Mark & Cheryl Guidoboni were present at the event. Cheryl took the microphone and pointed out that scouting had always been a big part of their daughter Laura’s life. Cheryl said that the other love of their daughter’s life was horses. In memory of Laura, the young girls were invited outside for pony rides. Sure enough, there were two who provided the children with shrills of joy…proving that loving memories can temper loss.

DOUBLE LOSS: Two long time Kingston residents passed away recently, David Wilson and Gordon Pratt. Between them they have 82 years of local residence. Dave was a newspaper man, having worked at the Herald for 15 years and the Globe for 25 more. Always the gentleman he will be missed. Our thoughts go out to Connie and the entire extended family. Gordon was a familiar face around town. Although hearing impaired it never stopped him from spirited communication. Gordon was a well liked member of the Hilltop AA and was world recognized as a carver of birds and decoys. We extend our sympathy to his wife and family.

EXTORTION PORTION: It was an interesting moment at Town Meeting when the Kelleher petitioned article came before the body. Patrick Kelleher wanted to rezone the 17 acre old Anderson’s Junkyard property from the grandfathered junkyard use to an Industrial/Commercial designation. As predicted, Pine DuBois was opposed to the zoning change. It was at that point it was suggested that Pine had already made complaints against the current operation with DEP and had tweaked the Kellehers with the possibility of securing a portion of the land out back that runs adjacent to the Jones River system. Sandy MacFarlane fired a volley across Pine’s bow with the accusation that if she was gifted a portion of riverfront land for her Watershed Association, she would have removed her objections. Well, the cat was out of the bag. This has been Pine’s MO for years. Did she deny the well deserved accusation? Not on your life. She returned to the podium and acknowledged the practice and defended it. In our book, that’s municipal extortion when you do that as a public official and remains just as much an immoral act when she does it to benefit her private interests.

CPA BUNGLE: The town blew it last week when we voted to expend $185,000 to buy a piece of wetlands from the Allen Family on River Street. The lot had originally been one large lot with a house on it. The family ownership (Marshall & Marion Joyce) subdivided the lot to consist of one lot with a home on it, and a separate lot that is unbuildable, wet, and has no sewer stub. Notwithstanding that the two lots are strangely pretty close in assessed value (somebody better check that out), the piece we purchased is totally useless. In essence, we paid top dollar to the Allen family to get rid of some wetlands, snag a pretty sum of money, and still have the parcel named in honor of world famous painter Marshall Joyce. Nothing against the Joyce/Allen Family, but they landed the big one, a pretty financial deal for them, more open space for the nearby DuBois Boatyard and all on Kingston taxpayer dollars. Just a few paces up Landing Road from the Jones River Watershed hallowed ground is the old boathouse property. That parcel is being purchased by the Watershed Association. It is a viable lot with a sewer stub, meaning one thing…it is buildable. So, what have we wrought? The Town bought a worthless piece of land to the left of Pine’s Watershed, Ecology Center, et al, while she will get the plum piece to her right…with the assistance of grant money and donations from the bleeding hearts that have drunk just enough diluted Kool Aid to stick around for the next telethon.

BON VOYAGE: Kingston Yacht Club Commodore Frank Catani, aka Kingston Harbormaster, has, we are told… resigned from that exalted position. Some interior shakeup going on or didn’t the Plymouth deal for oceanfront on Boundary Lane fall apart…or was that deal for Cordage land?

GATE CRASHERS: What with cars going through Rite-Aid stores at two different stores in two different town only hours apart, Kingston was not to be undone. A couple of days ago and elderly gentleman jumped the curb at We Print Today in the Center and smashed through a large portion of window. Although glass shattered inward and one employee had to bolt for cover, nobody was injured.

POOR TASTE?: We received several calls complaining about the outside marquee of the Charlie Horse urging people to attend Town Meeting. The secondary thought below that message was the wording, “Free Entertainment.” The callers thought it was insulting. For our part…we didn’t share that thought. Town meeting is entertaining, sometimes downright laughable.

PAYING GREEN: We know, green is the current rage. In essence it has emerged as a thriving industry and to question anything about the Green Revolution is akin to questioning motherhood and apple pie. One thing we must be willing to do when ‘going green’ is to willingly accept the cost consequence. Last year we purchased a new truck for use by the Highway Department. It was important that the truck be diesel operated…not gas. Has anyone compared the cost of gas vs. diesel? Take another look at this year. Because of the new disdain for salting roads, we are now using a mix of sand and salt in order to be more ‘green friendly’. Translating into dollars, that resulted in a $279,000 expense in order to purchase a Vactor Truck. Essentially that means it is a high powered vacuum unit capable of sucking all the sand out of the catch basins. The jury is still out on the issue of effectiveness and cost. While we realize that caring for our world is no joke, can we reach a point of hysteria?

ELECTED STILL: Well, the sun gods sitting in the big chamber took it on the chin when voters said they will continue to support an elected Treasurer. John LaBrache, who had to be disappointed, did say he would serve out his term if elected. We’re not surprised with the result. Look at it this way…the argument is that we might one day get a knucklehead for a Treasurer…so, because of that fear, we want the position to be appointed. Who will make the appointment? The elected knuckleheads who are afraid that we won’t make a good choice at the polls. That being the case, it’s time for a Town Manager.

PETITION DRIVE: Sewer Commission Chairman Elaine Fiore is still seething over the Town Meeting raid of $200,000 from the Sewer Enterprise Account and says it ain’t over yet. She, on behalf of her Department, is circulating to be sent to AG Martha Coakley, the Governor and others urging the AG to throw out the decision. The claim is that the action is illegal and not in accordance with Massachusetts General Law. We’ll ask for a copy so we can have people who drop by the rundown world headquarters of the Kingston Observer sign it. We will too.

GOING, GOING…gone is the word for secretary Eileen Grinham in the Tax Collector’s office. The talk around Town Hall is that Collector Priscilla Palombo fired the woman for insubordination. The info heard round the water cooler is that the woman doesn’t like it when Pricilla allegedly talks down to her. Our snitches say that PP has a tendency to sometimes do that. At any rate, the woman was told to clear out her desk and that was that…sorta. The woman has now filed a grievance…that’s right, she is a union employee and therefore has rights under the contract. Sources say her husband is facing major surgery this week for a serious, ongoing medical condition…maybe kidney issues. Eileen is the only one working in the family and will lose her medical coverage. Other sources say that there will be an extension of her “on leave” status until the end of the month (in order to cover the surgery), but is that appropriate. This matter will certainly test the clout of the union who has not been impressively aggressive in the past…unless you are a bigwig within the system. Complaints suggest that the same thing occurred a few years back with another employee. The woman and Priscilla were at odds in that case too and was headed for a firing. Sources say that Kevin Donovan stepped in to keep the woman working until her pre-existing terminal disease forced her departure. Other veteran Town Hall workers said this actually marks the third time that this type of termination or attempted termination had occurred. In fairness, despite the sad issues, there are two sides to every story. Restricted by regulations one threshold in her office is “service to the public.” We’ll try and track this case to see if the firing is upheld.

MAURO’S WAY: If you got a chance to peruse the green campaign flyer being distributed by Selectman candidate Mauro Mazzilli, you will scratch your head. We read the entire report and still don’t know what it said. Mazzilli. Running for the 14th time in as many years, surely considers his document as “The Mazzilli 10 Point Plan on Economic Recovery in the United States…with a paragraph of tips on the future of the Common Market.

MOVIN’ MAN: Speaking of Mauro Mazzilli…he has attached new meaning to Town Meeting. The Mauro Man has discovered that he can have an effect on every Article on the Warrant through the simple act of being recognized by the Moderator and uttering three simple words: “Call the question.” In essence, that can end what may have been a spirited debate. Those three words were used often at the Annual Town Meeting and most were attributed to Mauro. Ed King, the architect of moving either to reconvene to another evening or motioning for adjournment, is now joined by Mazzilli, soul mates as it were, for actions that call attention to the person and does nothing for the process.

FUZZY FRAN: Our Moderator Fran Hoeg may sing a pretty song but her muddled performance at the Annual Town Meeting was way off key and clearly out of tune. On several occasions Fran set the rules and then allowed discussion to drift into the quagmire she tried to avoid. When “called out” on her uneven performance she became visibly shaken and muttered some explanation of why she decided to do it that way because it was more streamlined. What in hell was she talking about? Once again, Fran showed her total lack of understanding to the issue of “calling the question.” She makes it seem that once those three words are spoken she must immediately call for the majority that would end the debate. Not so! The Moderator can allow discussion to continue as long as there are people waiting to speak and making certain that both sides have been adequately represented in the debate. When it wasn’t Mauro calling the question, it was Mark Beaton doing it to keep fellow Selectman Paul Gallagher from the podium.

FOR SALE: In case you’re wondering how the Kingston real estate inventory is doing, here’s the latest breakdown up to this date: There are 171 pieces of real estate on the market, 111 single family homes (with an average 205 days to sell), 8 mobile homes, 7 rental properties, 13 commercial/industrial (including several acres of O’Donnell property), 3 multi-family homes and 4 condos (with an average of 463 days to sell). This list is up by about 26 properties since we last reported a few months ago.

I’M COVERED: Nobody can call Pine DuBois dumb. Right now she is the Environmental Mayor of Kingston who has managed to position herself in four different committees, all functioning in concert with her oft times dictatorial agenda. Pine sits on the following municipal committees:

The Conservational Land Review Committee, The Green Committee, The Community Preservation Committee, The Open Space Committee.

In addition to that, she has melded the entire municipal package into her private agenda consisting of the Jones River Watershed Association and the Ecology Center and lord knows what else. Pine is a green cottage industry in which the public/private interests are blurred to a fare thee well.